Monday, December 13, 2010

Do I Get an "F"?

Recently, a friend of mine, the asute and -- dare I say it? -- venerable Dr. Scott Warnock, made me aware of a phenomenon on the Internet called "F-Reading." It seems people are not really reading things on the Internet.
 They are scanning what they
see in an
F-shaped
pattern. I like
to think I can
place more
trust in my
readers.
Surely people
give my hard
work
more attention
than that.
I would
hate to think
that people are
scanning the
ideas I have worked so hard to develop -- that I have labored over --
weighing the balance of each word with microscopic intent, and
that they are
drawing
superficial,
sweeping
conclusions and
judging my
positions on
things like,
say, religion,
sex, parenthood
politics, love --
things like that --
and then labeling
me as a some-
one who fits
a stereotype of
the type of
person they are
in the mood to
argue with
that day, missing
my finer points.
Still, even if
this were
the case
I would
adamantly refuse
to cave in. I'm
standing firm, my
friends. I will
not change my
approach just
to keep readers.
And I will not
try cheap tricks
to hold readers'
attention.
And I hope,
sincerely,
that you
enjoy the
picture, below,
of a mostly
naked woman.
Have a nice day. 


1 comment:

  1. Interesting. I think I have to admit that I do this a lot.
    Brings me back to this (fantastic) article I read. No, I actually read it, for real.

    http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us-stupid/6868/

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