Brevity -- Friend or Foe?

Often just important as what you say is how long it takes you to say it. If you increase the complexity or the length of an idea, you risk losing your reader (in both senses of the word). I would argue that this is not necessarily a good state of affairs. “We want it now; and we want it fast” may lead us to more facts and quicker gratification, but true wisdom and character require time—time to care; time to ponder; and ultimately, time to understand.