Superphysics Superphysics

Bullet-style Writing Applied

by Juan Icon
September 21, 2020 3 minutes  • 460 words
Table of contents

The advent of the internet allowed information to be shared globally, resulting in ‘information overload’. However, this increase in the quantity of information being perceived did not really come from new information, but instead came from already-existing information from various sources being made accessible to the user or perceiver.

Let us assume:

  • there are 100 million people in a country
  • each person creates his own information as 1 info-unit
  • each person can only handle 100 info-units in his brain per day

It follows that each person can only have memorable interactions with 100 people or info-units.

  • If he interacts with 1,000 people in a day, he will only remember 100 people.
  • If a nationwide internet system lets him interact with 199 million people, he can will still only remember 100 people, wasting the reach of the internet system.

Since brain and mind* cannot change drastically overnight or even in a few years, the information must be made more efficient and reduced to fit into human limitations. If each info-unit can be reduced to 0.000001, then 100 million of it can be squeezed into his capacity of 100 units. 100 000 000 * 0.000001

*The nature of the brain as a physical entity is different from the nature of the mind as a metaphysical entity

In this way, by reducing the superfluous data or noise, he can still have a piece of the information from his fellow-countrymen and really know all of his country to some extent.

How it Works

Since recorded information usually manifests as written text, then the style of writing can be optimized to reduce the noise and unnecessary data. This can be done by breaking down complex ideas into basic ones, and by grouping similar or contiguous ideas*, as described by David Hume:

David-Hume
It is certain that distance diminishes the force of every idea, and that, upon our approach to any object; though it does not discover itself to our senses; it operates upon the mind with an influence, which imitates an immediate impression. The thinking on any object readily transports the mind to what is contiguous; but it is only the actual presence of an object, that transports it with a superior vivacity.
Enquiry on Human Understanding, Section 5, Part 2

*This follows the maxim that all ideas are connected

For example, we implement Hume’s metaphysical ideas in re-organizing a news article on Yahoo to make understanding it faster and easier:

Bullet-style writing

Positive Response

I’ve posted the above article on social media and so far most have preferred bullet style as more convenient and quicker for comprehension.

This style of organizing information will be implemented in our simplifications of enlightenment-era works, such as those of David Hume and Montesquieu in order to make the more understandable.

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