Always bet on text (2014)

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Text vs. Audio/Video for Information

  • Many commenters strongly prefer text for learning and reference: faster skimming, higher information density, easier revisiting, and better fit with personal study habits (e.g., reading on commutes).
  • Audio (podcasts) is often described as poor for serious information transfer but good for entertainment or use when reading isn’t possible (driving, walking).
  • Video is praised for concrete, spatial tasks (car repair, hidden fasteners, climbing, CAD demos, cooking) where visual intuition matters.

Text Maximalism, Tools, and Plain Formats

  • Several participants embrace “text maximalism”: plain text as the natural interface between humans and machines, easy to search, version, and transform.
  • UNIX-style tooling, Emacs/Vim/shell, markdown, and text-based config are cited as powerful, durable, and LLM‑friendly.
  • Concerns are raised about proprietary or GUI‑only tools becoming opaque “walled gardens” for both humans and AI.

Text vs. Binary Protocols (JSON, base64, Protobuf, etc.)

  • One camp argues that text‑first protocols (JSON, base64-encoded blobs) offer transparency, flexibility, and easier debugging; bandwidth/CPU savings from binary are often negligible in typical business software.
  • The other side stresses:
    • CPU and memory costs on constrained devices (phones, large‑scale systems).
    • Streaming and performance issues with text+base64.
    • Value of schemas, strong compatibility, and efficiency in binary formats like Protobuf.
  • There’s debate over whether readability truly dominates once tooling is in place, and whether “30% more bandwidth” is trivial or huge.

Limits of Text & Need for Other Modalities

  • Many highlight domains where text is weak: motor skills (riding a bike, throwing, rock climbing), physical intuition (untangling cords), emotional impact, taste/smell, and rich spatial understanding.
  • Graphs, visualizations, sheet music, CAD, and staff notation are given as irreducibly powerful non‑text representations; text can’t fully substitute them, though it can describe or generate them.
  • Some reframe the issue as “always bet on symbolics” or “always bet on language” rather than text alone.

Durability, History, and Accessibility

  • Text (especially Unicode/plain formats) is seen as highly archival and portable, critical in fields like endangered language documentation.
  • Others counter that images/PDFs have also proven robust in practice.
  • Several note that speech, visual art, and possibly genetic code predate writing, challenging claims that text is the “oldest” medium.
  • Literacy limits and the rise of short-form video raise questions about how far a text‑centric worldview can reach the broader population.