Whole Earth Catalog

Each issue aimed to provoke about a fifth of its readers. When Kevin Kelly edited the Whole Earth Catalog, he judged an issue was making its mark when about one fifth of readers were provoked enough to write in or say something. He rotated who got provoked so it was never the same group, and if nobody was disturbed, the issue had not gone far enough.

The publication ran what Kelly calls unorthodox conceptual news, mostly ideas, and he believed some discomfort was needed to advance the conversation. "If there was some disturbance, that would mean that we kind of had reached it." He ties this to honest writing: parroted lines rarely land, while honest ones are likelier to hit a nerve.

How I Write▶ 0:43