By contrast, consider the Aro meditation course: aromeditation.org (👋). It’s a sequence of 18+ emails, one automatically sent each week after you sign up. But the emails aren’t written like MOOC materials: the passing weeks are carefully woven into each letter.
Conversation
They leave time for concepts to sink in before elaborating later. They spiral back, refreshing earlier ideas every few weeks. They lean on the reader’s growing trust. This series of emails feels like a much more profound evolution relative to books than MOOCs relative to courses.
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's fascinating experiment over his last 6-week walk struck a similar chord. Each day of the walk, Craig sent one photo from that day's segment to subscribers. The vibe yawns over weeks, a totally different feel from a coffee table book compiling a journey in retrospect!
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Games have really figured this out.
e.g. MOOGs like WoW choreograph players’ incentives and environments to invoke an ever-expanding horizon over many months. The design elements aren’t about raw hours: they’re more about how the feel of play sessions change, week to week.
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and I have been excited about how the mnemonic medium creates a context where readers continue interacting with an author's work after the initial reading session. It's a mass medium with a weakly authored time component.
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In an upcoming mnemonic essay, we exert more authorial control over time, adding questions which evolve over weeks of review sessions. But there's much, much more to explore there!
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Can you all think of any other good examples of a mass medium with a lengthy, strongly authored time dimension?
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Do soap operas really not count here? They span decades in an amazingly accessible format that often rewards long time consumers investment without alienating newcomers.
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Maybe they do! One good argument in favor: the formulaic cliffhangers really only work because of the time delays between episodes.
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Game of Thrones lasted for how many years? People practically grew up playing characters on the show. Many movie franchises have universes that last decades. Example: Star Wars, Marvel Universe etc.
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Funny enough, I suspect soap operas may actually have a more intentionally authored time dimension than Game of Thrones!
quite right.
soaps are looking to create in the time dimension... at least forward in the immediate few episodes.
GoT the show had time as its enemy. Actors growing, source material being consumed...