Top 10 Reasons You Should Read This Article

Jul. 6, 2012

By Tao Lin info

Tao Lin (b. 1983) is the author of 7 books of fiction/poetry including Richard Yates (2010) and Bed (2007). Vintage ...

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10. IT MIGHT CONTAIN INFORMATION YOU WANT TO KNOW

Maybe not in this sentence. Or this. Or at all. But maybe.

9. IT’S A LIST

It’s divided into 10 sections.

8. IT’S WITHIN YOUR RANGE OF SIGHT

Your eyes are already focused on, or near, the words and symbols comprising it, for example “for example” and “.”

7. YOU’RE ALREADY READING IT

Your brain is already processing its content.

6. YOU CAN’T AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH IT IN A FULLY-INFORMED MANNER UNTIL YOU’VE READ ALL OF IT

Due to the nature of this article you’ll need to read all of it — unless you’re willing to admit you’re basing your opinion about it on incomplete information — before you’re able to begin to agree or disagree with it in a fully-informed manner.

5. IT’S SHORT

You’re already more than ~70% finished.

4. IT’S EASY TO READ

[self-explanatory]

3. YOU WERE ALREADY GOING TO READ IT AND FEEL EAGER TO HAVE 10 MORE REASONS SUPPORTING YOUR CHOICE

[self explanatory]

2. YOU’LL FEEL PRODUCTIVE

[self explanatory]

1. YOU ALREADY READ IT

When you finish reading this sentence you’ll have already read it. TC mark

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  • Flex

    give me back my 20 seconds

  • http://www.facebook.com/JeSkJeSk Je Sk Irl

    NAILED IT

  • http://twoseconds.tumblr.com jesse v

    so meta right now.

  • http://twitter.com/WordNerd Ethan (@WordNerd)

    Best listicle ever, or at least in the top 10.

  • b r

    Should there be a ‘why’ somewhere in that title

  • http://twitter.com/h2oetry Jack Waters (@h2oetry)

    Felt ‘Bath Salts’ should’ve been included in the top 10. Saw that the article is ‘tagged’ with “Bath Salts.” Feel good about it now.

  • Patricia

    Why the fuck is this on Thought Catalog

    • LorrieMoore

      BECAUSE IT’S TAO FUCKING LIN YOU OBV HAVE ONLY BEEN READING TC FOR LIKE THE LAST ~2 MONTHS. HE MADE THIS WEBSITE. HE MADE THIS FUCKING WEBSITE WHAT IT IS!!!!!1!!

    • http://mangopeels.wordpress.com mathewpaulk

      i can see a bit of your cleavage :P

  • http://www.facebook.com/crls420 Carlos Ortiz

    YOLO

  • Anna

    so beautifully meta. mind blown. or maybe i’m just really high.

  • Jade

    Tao, you troll.

  • maybeemily

    OH TAO, YOU CARD

  • http://twitter.com/heronkady10 Kady Heron (@heronkady10)

    Very interesting topic Thank you so much for this!
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  • http://twitter.com/saltdoor joe bussiere (@saltdoor)

    im gettin hot…. Very interesting topic Thank you so much for this!

  • http://twitter.com/Beach_Sloth BeachSloth (@Beach_Sloth)

    Very interesting article. Want to learn how to get really ripped abs for mere pennies a day? Click here.

  • genina

    so meta it’s giving me a headache. cool. cool cool cool.

  • http://exponentialage.blogspot.com Rajat Gaur

    I’m blown away……!!!

  • http://getstuckintraffic.com/best-practices-for-writing-for-the-web/ Best Practices For Writing For The Web

    [...] 10 lists (or top 5, or top 20, etc.) They’re easily scannable and easy to mentally digest. This top 10 list by Tao Lin contains no semantic value whatsoever, but it illustrates how well top 10 lists work as a web [...]

  • waicool

    stopped reading thoughtcatalog (re: list catalog) precisely because of tripe like this. i dunno why i thought it was safe to come back today.

  • http://fags.com fag

    when i was 16 yrs old i said to myself, Never again, yet here i am and coke is still coke and water is till brown

  • asdfsfad

    “1. YOU ALREADY READ IT” is a reason not to read it.

  • http://thoughtcatalog.com/2012/this-is-a-list/ This Is A List | Thought Catalog

    [...] this essay and then on July 6th, a Mr. Tao Lin published an article on Thought Catalog that was very similar to this article, except that this article is funnier than his article, but still, the author screamed in [...]

  • http://www.itmakesmestronger.com/2012/07/this-is-a-list/ Only L<3Ve @ ItMakesMeStronger.com

    [...] this essay and then on July 6th, a Mr. Tao Lin published an article on Thought Catalog that was very similar to this article, except that this article is funnier than his article, but still, the author screamed in [...]

  • http://thoughtcatalog.com/2013/im-done-with-thought-catalog/ I’m Done With Thought Catalog | Thought Catalog

    [...] like to catalog one last thought. Not another list. Not a damned “How to.” Just a thought. After all this, I think I owe her [...]

  • http://www.itmakesmestronger.com/2013/02/i%e2%80%99m-done-with-thought-catalog/ Only L<3Ve @ ItMakesMeStronger.com

    [...] like to catalog one last thought. Not another list. Not a damned “How to.” Just a thought. After all this, I think I owe her [...]

  • http://wearethemarket.com/beyond-menswears-existential-crisis/ Beyond #Menswear’s Existential Crisis | We Are The Market

    [...] I wouldn’t say I’ve defined it, just made it suit my needs. Lists have existed for a while, I mean look at stuff like HighFidelity. Nerd culture—and Internet culture—has embraced the list as a way to rank and quantify taste. Whether that’s for better or for worse, that’s arguable. But what’s true is that it makes things more fun, and a little more accessible. If you wanted to listen to influential rap albums, there’s a list for that. It’s merely just a medium. It’s up to the writers to either flip it and make it tongue-in-cheek—something we see a lot on sites like Complex, Buzzfeed, and Thought Catalog. I think Tao Lin really hit the meta nail on the head when he wrote Top 10 Reasons You Should Read This Article. [...]

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