"The I-ratio, as I think of it, relates the interest a listener has in what he's hearing to the interest the speaker has in what he's talking about. In the best-case scenario, the ratio is one: listener and speaker are equally interested in what's being said. But it can rise above one, if, for example, you unwittingly let slip some piece of gossip you don't recognize as fascinating."
"What I can say is that, over the years, I've bored many others-especially my wife-with talk of cameras, computers, kayaks, wetsuits, spin bikes, weight lifting, e-ink tablets, science-fiction novels, Lee Child's " Jack Reacher " series, home-brewing setups, tiny synthesizers, electric scooters, watches, Japanese outerwear, and other hobbies too embarrassing to mention. To my shame, I've even recounted stories about exchanges I've had with other hobby enthusiasts in online forums."
An interestingness ratio (I-ratio) compares listener interest with the interest of the person talking and ideally equals one when both are equally engaged. Hobbies often generate a low I-ratio because they are pursued primarily for personal satisfaction rather than public appeal. A long list of intimate pastimes can be tedious to listeners despite strong personal enthusiasm. Contemporary cultural forces—emphasis on publicity, productivity, smartphones, side hustles, and the commercialization or 'grindification' of leisure—raise barriers and reshape hobby practices, increasing costs and shifting many pursuits toward performative or monetized forms.
Read at The New Yorker
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