I once attended a comedy show with a group of friends. Since the venue was across town, we split a Chevy Suburban SUV. From the moment the driver hit the gas, everybody was on their phones. From the back row, I watched my friends scroll their social media feeds with ferocious intensity. One thing stuck out: everybody in front of me only consumed content created within the last 24 hours.

No exceptions.

I succumb to the same impulse. Chances are, so do you. Like hamsters running on a wheel, we live in an endless cycle of ephemeral content consumption — a merry-go-round that spins faster and faster but barely goes anywhere. The Internet is a novelty machine that pulls us away from age-old wisdom. Even though we’re just a click away from the greatest authors of all time, from Plato to Tolstoy, we default to novelty instead of timelessness.

We’re trapped in a Never-Ending Now — blind to history, engulfed in the present moment, overwhelmed by the slightest breeze of chaos. Here’s the bottom line: You should prioritize the accumulated wisdom of humanity over what’s trending on Twitter.

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From David Perell's The Ultimate Guide to Writing Online (archive)