the last essay from DFW's "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again" is the GOAT short story
that being said i am pretty damn sure there is no peer-reviewed research that supports the idea that reading text is the best way to synthesize/retain information. i happen to love reading but the knee-jerk reaction from people who say "LOL IF YOU DON'T READ YOU ARE A BIG DUMB" kinda has no evidence to support the concept
i mean there are tons of very smart software developers that i know who make $$$$ and understand lots about math, physics, logic, and other scientific things that learn from webcasts, podcasts, MOOCs that use videos, and very little conventional text-based reading
common sense/logic would indicate that processing information is done in a myriad of ways and the very hard-lined theory that reading is by far the best way to get this information probably isn't true in all cases
anyway how did we get on this topic
EDIT:
oh i forgot about
The String Theory by DFW. anyone who isn't an idiot and likes sports should absolutely read this short story. it is awesome