A good goal for writers in the digital age is to be as incompressible as possible. This is related to, but not the same as, seeking density. 100 words that can only be compressed down to 90 by most reader is better than 50,000 which can be reduced to 1 tweet by most readers
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The more incompressible you are, the more your reach will be indirect, via the few people who put in the work to read it
One reason it’s possible for even no-reach beginners to feel genuine pity for Tom Friedman is that The World is Flat is pretty well summarized by its title
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At the other extreme, James Carse Finite and Infinite Games is almost incompressible *despite* being highly redundant and repetitive
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But the people who *have* put in the work to read Carse have all been way more deeply influenced by it. I’ve read both. I never cite World is Flat except as a joke. I cite or use Carse almost every other thing I write. Often in a foundational way.
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Shall we call this the Velvet Underground effect? quoteinvestigator.com/2016/03/01/vel
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Inequalities:
ubiquity is not endurance
endurance is not influence
influence is is not consequentiality
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Compressing does not lead to incompressibilty though. If you write a very good summary of a book it could still be further summarized as “like that other summary except with this 1 extra point”.
Incompressibility requires differentiation by adding integral original elements.
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Related:
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If I limit myself strictly to ideas I fully understand I won't get very far (if you want to go fast, go alone...).
Discovery > attribution.
Engineering style tinkering > bureaucratic formality
Collaborative exploration > lecturing
...and this is part of why we need Twitter.
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The medium is the message. Why it’s best to toss a few Easter eggs into stuff.
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I concur that incompressible is often more valuable, albeit more difficult to digest & understand. Nuance is not sexy or attention-grabbing. Nuance - in content & leadership - is not sexy & requires effort.
I’d be interested in your feedback on a piece:
kanaandkatana.com/blog/repeatabl




