HN Explorer

Ask HN: Do you prefer reading or listening?

4 points by Louistiti ↗ HN
- Do you prefer reading or listening?

- In which context would you prefer one instead of the other?

- Why?

7 comments

[ 28.8 ms ] story [ 691 ms ] thread
codedrome
I assume you are referring to audiobooks?

Definitely reading as it enables you to go at your own pace, skip back a few words if you didn't catch a meaning, or stop and stare out of the window for a few seconds.

Also the reader of an audiobook imposes their own interpretation of the text whereas if you read there is nothing between you and the author.

You can sort of do these things with an audiobook but it's fiddly.

Louistiti
Thanks for your reply! How about shorter resources than audiobook such as an article or literature work with a total listening duration of about 10 minutes?
gshdg
Reading. Always. I absorb information so much more effectively via text. Audio is too slow and too easy to inadvertently tune out.
Louistiti
Thanks for replying! What if you were able to speedup the audio a bit?
gshdg
Still too easy to tune out; too difficult to go backwards in; impossible to skim.

Personally I just retain it much more poorly under the best of circumstances, and stop paying attention at all for minutes at a time under the worst.

But other people have the opposite experience. Depends on who your audience is.

But if I’m part of your audience, please provide transcripts or I’ll just navigate away.

Phithagoras
Reading, usually. Even if I speed up audiobooks I have to pause them to let my thoughts wander off for a minute with a new idea. Reading happens exactly at the pace of my brain, while audio and video are controlled by something else. I have a fairly wander-y mind and I often zone out when someone speaks at me for more than a minute at a time.