The Only Real Measure of Quality Content is Its Lifespan
There's one test for whether content is worth consuming.
Will it matter in 100 years? If yes, read it. If no, don't.
The worst content is the most timely content. News. Breaking updates. Hot takes on today's controversy. Reactions to reactions.
Timeliness is the enemy of quality.
The more something depends on the current moment to be relevant, the less actual substance it contains.
The same with design.
If something is ugly or broken, there must be a better solution. Eventually someone will find it.
The same with ideas.
If your insight only works in 2025 because of some specific circumstance, it's not really an insight.
Would this have appealed to people in 1500? Would it appeal to people in 2500? If yes to both, you've found something real.
The great works often remain the great work.
Why? Because the people doing it were focused on the actual problem, not the fashion.
Fashion is the opposite of timelessness.
Fashion changes. And fashion is about signaling that you're current and idiot.
Samuel Johnson said it takes 100 years for a writer's reputation to converge. You have to wait for their influential friends to die, and then for all their followers to die.
Only then can you see what's actually there.
If you're consuming content that requires you to know what happened yesterday to understand it, you're eating junk food.
You might enjoy it. It might feel urgent. But it's optimized to be forgotten.
Reading list should prioritize old books. If something was written 50 years ago and people still read it, it passed the test. If something was written last week, you have no idea if it contains anything real.
Recognize news for what it is: entertainment.
If you want to content you create, ask yourself if someone would in a different century find this useful. If the answer is no, you're making news.
Aiming at timelessness forces you to face the real problem. When you can't hide behind "well, people are talking about this right now," you have to actually say something.
Yes, some new things will be timeless. You won't know which ones for years. But you can guess.
Does this depend on today's context? Does it require you to know current events? Does it feel urgent for reasons that will evaporate next month?
If yes, it's probably junk.
If it could have been written at any point in the last 500 years and would still make sense, pay attention.