Reading is the last portal to sustained inner experience.
We intend to keep it open.
Wander.
Lose track of time.
Get gloriously lost.
That's the point.
Read this.
THE THOUSAND INJURIES of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a threat. At length I would be avenged; this was a point definitely, settled—but the very definitiveness with which it was resolved precluded the idea of risk. I must not only punish but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong.
It must be understood that neither by word nor deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will. I continued, as was my wont to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his immolation.
There was a time in my life when I could have read through that without stopping. I know this because I remember it. Now I had to read it a few times, and I was still filling in the gaps.
The muscle had atrophied. And I hadn't even noticed.
I shared it with my 14-year-old daughter. She said:
"I wouldn't want to be friends with him. Bro, come to the point."
We both laughed. But here's what stayed with me after.
This is Edgar Allan Poe. The Cask of Amontillado. 1846.
It was standard reading for thirteen-year-olds in American schools. Seventh graders sat with this prose and worked through it.
Not because kids were smarter. Because the muscle was trained.
How many passes did it take you?
We are living in an era of intellectual diabetes. We consume fragments, bullet points, and AI summaries that make us feel smart while our comprehension engine atrophies.
If your only goal is to get to a destination 10 kilometers away, you take a taxi. But if your goal is to strengthen your legs, you have to walk. There is no other way.
octopus is designed for the walk. We make that walk as engaging and immersive as possible, but we refuse to take the walk for you.
We are building a gym for the most sophisticated muscle in the body. And unlike every other gym, our goal isn't to keep you coming back. It's to make you strong enough to walk away.
We are perfecting something new — an interactive reading engine that strengthens your comprehension. Be the first to experience what reading should feel like.
Read the blog on Substack →