Tudor Alexander, a gifted “gabist,” yet a thorough YouTube academic, has complained of what has become of such social media platforms. Read his excellent analysis here:
I, too, have found it increasingly difficult to use such platforms for any meaningful research. Three-minute podcasts might be interrupted by 15-minute infomercials, or worse, they may be AI-generated click-bait teasers. Who has time for that?
One of the reasons I respected Douglas Vogt’s lecture presentations was that he made use of a lecture outline and even a course description like a true academic. Even though his lectures could be longer than an hour, you could watch the progress of his presentation and follow the logic and his integration of supporting facts. If you knew where he was going, you could cheat and fast-forward.
That is how I read books. I read the preface and maybe the introduction. Then I read the Index and the Bibliography. Then, I go to the middle and work my way backwards, then forwards. Sound weird? Not really. If you ever notice the architecture of a book – especially a textbook – you discover that books of substance are made to be used as references, not story-telling. I try to avoid books written by preachers. They are usually vanity publications. Preachers are story-tellers, great for sleepy congregants in the pews but a waste of time in print.
Yes, I know that Jesus was a story-teller. But do you know why? He hid the truth in parables so that the people could NOT understand what He was talking about. The Bible is the quintessential esoteric textbook manual. You are supposed to read the sayings of Jesus and then correlate them with the histories and prophecies in the Older Testament to gain your understanding. That takes work and a major time commitment.
As with inflation and “shrinkflation,” gabflation is another brand of hucksterism. We have entered the age of the street-corner barker and panhandler. Only now, the public square is social media.
That is why serious scholars rely upon websites and try to direct listeners to those venues.
I have two websites: this one 2046AD.org and savebenewahcounty.com. They are boring to look at. There is a lot of content. If you are looking for something particular, use the Search function. It is usually to be found where the tiny icon of a magnifying glass is, either at the top of the page or near the Navigation Bar. Use it.
— JWS, 8/29/26
