When I read, I’m looking for either recency or quality. There’s a saying that day-old newspaper is used to line birdcages.

I read online content with the expectation of learning the latest, and I accept the lower quality as a necessary by-product of speed.

I read books with the expectation of reading a well-thought-out, carefully-edited piece with lasting, perhaps eternal value. I accept that the data won’t be up to the minute, but I count on the essential timelessness of human nature.

Expecting timelessness from the average blog post, or timeliness from the average book is a fool’s errand.

This post originally appeared as a comment on PandaWhale.