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The quiet art of attention

(billwear.github.io)
865 points billwear | 7 comments | | HN request time: 1.209s | source | bottom
1. billwear ◴[] No.41829321[source]
that's the point: sometimes there is no tl;dr.
replies(1): >>41830889 #
2. dirtyhippiefree ◴[] No.41829692[source]
What billwear said first is true. Also, what is the endpoint of oversimplification?

It’s okay if you’re waiting for the comic book edition, but I don’t think it’s on the horizon.

3. keybored ◴[] No.41829794[source]
You can train your attention.
4. Lerc ◴[] No.41830889[source]
There are however a great deal of things people can do to make the same information available to a wider audience.

Formatting, fonts, colours, structure of argument, visual aids.

Clicking [reader view] on this article aided me immensely in being able to take it in. As one of the many ADHD people who encountered this, the white on black, wide page, and a serifed font were all non-informational aspects of the page that made it difficult to take in.

You are wrong that sometimes there is no tl;dr In the absence of someone putting in the work to make content accessible the emphasis merely falls upon the dr of tl;dr.

No-one requires you to make things for everyone, but you cannot expect to reach everyone without consideration of them either.

replies(1): >>41832314 #
5. johnnyanmac ◴[] No.41832314{3}[source]
http://bettermotherfuckingwebsite.com/

or

https://perfectmotherfuckingwebsite.com/

if you're feeling venturous.

>You are wrong that sometimes there is no tl;dr In the absence of someone putting in the work to make content accessible the emphasis merely falls upon the dr of tl;dr.

On a technical level I agree.

>But how does one begin? It is not with grand declarations or bold, sweeping changes. That would miss the point entirely. Rather, it is with a gentle attention to the present, a deliberate shift in the way we move through the world.

That's a pretty good TLDR right there.

But on a cosmic level, I see nothing more ironic than asking for a TL;DR on how to take back your attention. Showing you have some interest in a topic but not enough to fully read it without shifting to yet another topic your brain runs you to. Thus failing the "gentle attention to the present".

replies(1): >>41834181 #
6. hackernewds ◴[] No.41834181{4}[source]
those 2 websites were distracted eyesores. is this what people find helps attention
replies(1): >>41834583 #
7. johnnyanmac ◴[] No.41834583{5}[source]
I suppose design is subjective, but these were more to demonstrate that there are simple ways to make a website read good, instead of "looking good". I'd figure readers of Hacker news's web page design would sympathize.

These are no JS websites and I believe the first website is a total of 7 lines of CSS to help with margins. The second one's takeaway is to avoid pure whites and blacks (which from discussions is apparently a very controversial topic) and make a little use of typography