Long form content--whether in the form of a lecture, book, video or article series--is something I have found most people avoid like the plague.
"Just give me the short version," they say.
And it's true: sometimes the insight can be conveyed in a short form.
But that short explanation does not give you understanding.
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Long Form Content Study Leads To Mastery
True insight, genuine mastery, requires time. You must get a feel for the surroundings, the history, the atmosphere of the topic.
Of course, that may not be what you want. Maybe all you desire is to know just enough of a concept to be able to use it.
At that point, however, do not strut around like you know everything about what you're talking about.
I see this a lot, unfortunately.
People without mastery, quick to pop in to blare what they think they know.
An acquaintance on social media asked me for advice for learning about a specific topic awhile back. I directed him to a video series by a professional, which were less than twenty minutes apiece.
"Boy," he said after watching the first, "I didn't think it would be so involved."
It wasn't.
The explanations were straightforward. The problem was the "sit down and learn this" requirement of consuming long form content (and this was not even particularly long--I have watched many hours of lectures on the same topic) was too much for his taste.
He didn't really want to learn it.
If You Truly Want To Learn About Something, Embrace This
If you want to achieve mastery, you must be willing to go through long form content.
The real insights, the nuggets of gold, are buried in there. Don't expect the speaker or writer to know what they are. I have found discernment to be a rare commodity.
If you aren't willing to consume long form content, admit to yourself the truth: that you don't want to learn about the thing.
Should you truly want to learn about and master a subject, embrace the long form content around it. Realize it will take you more than a few minutes or even a few days to study. You'll be better off for it, because that's where the nuggets are.
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