What's Lindy Stays Lindy
The Lindy Effect describes the phenomenon that the longer something has been around, the longer it’s likely to persist into the future. Classics will remain classics. The greats of the past century are likely to be the greats of the next century (ever heard of Plato). As Amor Towles said on the How I Write podcast, “history is very good at discarding all that is mediocre.” If you want to read more but don’t know what to read, start with what’s timeless.
What you consume influences what you write. The temptation to snack on the fleeting satisfaction of social media is like filling up on junk food — momentarily gratifying but it ultimately saps your creative energy, leaving your mind empty yet bloated with distractions. On the other hand, when you immerse yourself in great literature that has been praised for generations, you feed your next creation with ancient wisdom and literary techniques that have been proven to resonate.
The distinction between what’s timely and timeless is crucial. Timely writing relies on novelty — the wow-factor. And so, it often fades into obscurity. Timeless writing contains timeless ideas, like those uttered by Socrates in The Republic, and universal stories, like Frodo Baggins’s journey to save Middle-earth from the dark lord Sauron in The Lord of the Rings.
To become a great thinker, be selective with what you consume. Consider the habits of Marc Andreessen, who reads only old books or breaking news, in group chats and media feeds. Or look at The Cultural Tutor, who touches nothing that was written within the past 50 years. These are deliberate choices that feed their intellect and help them think differently. Don’t just read every piece of information that comes your way; curate your information diet with the most insightful and potent content. Filter through the noise and focus on what truly nourishes you.
Great literature does more than just broaden your vocabulary; timeless writing serves as a mentor. The voices of the past — Fitzgerald’s clarity, Austen’s wit, Proust’s vibrancy — show you the boundless possibilities of the written word. Let the introspective depths of Dostoyevsky's Crime & Punishment teach you how to explore the darkness of human psychology. Let the lyrical beauty of Rainer Maria Rilke’s Sonnets to Orpheus show you how art can reconcile the big questions around life and death. Great books challenge your perceptions; a great book will push you to question, explore, and nurture your growth as a writer.
Even though on the Internet, we’re just a click away from Dostoyevsky and Rilke, we still default to novelty instead of timelessness. Escaping the ephemeral buzz of junk content means exiting the hamster-wheel of the Never-Ending Now. It means consuming what is timeless. Read old books, talk to your mentors, and be wary of feeds — anything that has a recency bias. Read to learn, not to “be informed.”
Choose your influences wisely. Let the greats guide your hand. By consuming what’s timeless, you too can aspire to create something that transcends the moment — writing that not only speaks to today’s reader but echoes into the future.
