The Art of Manliness Podcast:
"The Idea Machine — How Books Changed the World (and Still Matter)"
Originally aired: December 16, 2025
Host: Brett McKay
Guest: Joel Miller (author of The Idea Machine: How Books Built Our World and Shape Our Future)
Episode Overview
This episode explores the revolutionary impact of books—beyond just being containers of content. Brett McKay interviews Joel Miller, a publishing veteran and author, about his book, The Idea Machine, which argues for understanding books as both software (content) and hardware (form), and how their physical evolution shapes human thought, culture, and society. The discussion spans from ancient reading practices, the rise of the codex, and the printing press, to the birth of the modern novel and the challenges (and opportunities) posed by digital technologies like large language models.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Books as Hardware and Software
[02:52–06:23]
- Books are not just content ("software") but also physical objects ("hardware"). The format of the book as a codex (pages bound within covers) allows for critical engagement: marking passages, comparing notes, and synthesizing ideas across works.
- Quote:
"What the [book] enabled [Augustine] to do was then go back to that line. It enabled him to share it with Alypius, his friend..."
—Joel Miller [05:22] - Scrolls didn't allow random access or easy navigation, limiting critical analysis.
- Modern digital formats (videos, podcasts) attempt to replicate the book’s navigation and referencing capabilities but still fall short.
2. Books as Tools for Thinking
[08:31–10:30]
- The book externalizes thought, allowing us to treat ideas as manipulable objects. By annotating, outlining, and critically dissecting text, readers develop new ideas and clarify existing ones.
- Quote:
"One of the things that an idea machine allows you to do is think new thoughts. The book makes ideas like objects. You can see them... you can analyze them..."
—Joel Miller [09:12] - Listening to a speech is fleeting; reading allows for objective, quotable analysis.
3. Books as Personal & Cultural Time Machines
[10:30–12:45]
- Joel introduces a "three-dimensional grid" (expression, specificity/clarity, and time) to illustrate how books preserve precise ideas across generations.
- Re-reading books at different life stages reveals new meanings, influenced by the reader’s changing perspective and experience.
4. The Ancient Skepticism about Writing
[13:02–17:19]
- Socrates (through Plato) argued that writing weakens memory and merely gives the appearance of knowledge.
- Quote:
"Socrates thought that it degraded memory... writing will give people the appearance of knowing stuff, when in reality they don't really know anything. They can just parrot what they've read."
—Joel Miller [13:17] - Despite philosophical objections, Socrates and Plato both relied heavily on written technology for their own works—Socrates was, in Joel’s words, a hypocrite, evidenced by Plato’s meticulous drafting.
5. The Codex: From Notebooks to Sacred Texts
[22:56–29:21]
- The codex (the modern book form) emerged in the first century AD, initially as a practical "notebook" for merchants and professionals.
- Early Christians adopted the codex for religious texts, likely due to its convenience in collecting multiple writings, ease of compilation, and possibly as a subtle social distinction from Roman elites who preferred scrolls.
6. Medieval Monks and Innovations in Reading
[32:30–36:26]
- Monks introduced transformative innovations: spaces between words, punctuation, and eventually silent reading.
- Quote:
"Monks did something as simple as put spaces between words. In the Greco-Roman method... they did not... [students] would pick out the words from this river of letters..."
—Joel Miller [32:46] - This enabled private, silent reading, leading to the rise of individual interpretation and private intellectual engagement (also enabling subversive or heretical reading).
7. The Information Explosion: Printing Press
[37:39–39:55]
- The printing press exponentially increased the number of books:
"Between the 6th and the 15th centuries... 11 million books. In just [148 years after the press,] 212 million..."
—Joel Miller [37:58] - This "information overload" spurred innovations in cataloguing, book storage, and finding information (from chests to spines-out shelving and complex indices).
8. How We Store and Find Books
[40:29–43:35]
- Book organization evolved—from boxes and chained tables to open shelves with spines out, pioneered by figures like Hernando Colón.
- Colón’s innovations in cataloguing and digests foreshadowed search engines, making libraries usable at scale.
9. Rise & Impact of the Novel
[44:41–51:18]
- The modern novel required mass literacy and industrial printing. Novels like Don Quixote paved the way, but real ubiquity came with cheap, abundant books.
- Novels cultivate empathy and theory of mind:
- Quote:
"When you pick up a book and you're reading about a character... We, like, loan our own emotions to the character... in ways that other kinds of literature don't allow us to do..."
—Joel Miller [47:25] - Novels have catalyzed societal change (Uncle Tom’s Cabin, for example), shaping public sentiment.
Novel Recommendations for Beginners
[50:19–51:18]
- No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
- Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
- The Aviator by Eugene Vodolazkin
- "Don't let 'Russian novelist' scare you away. It’s very contemporary..." —Joel Miller [50:43]
10. The State and Future of Reading
[51:18–56:04]
- Reading numbers are down but pockets of vibrant literary culture (Substack, TikTok BookTok) thrive.
- Nonfiction books may face challenges from LLMs (large language models) like ChatGPT, but "soul and mind formation" from deep reading cannot be replaced by AI extracts.
- Quote:
"There is some deep soul and mind formation that happens when we read... You have to go deeper... in order to be shaped by the content that you're reading. And that requires books..."
—Joel Miller [54:20]
11. AI, LLMs, and Reading
[56:04–58:32]
- LLMs are useful for productivity and research, but should augment, not replace, deep engagement with books.
- Useful for summarizing, querying, and assisting comprehension, especially with historical or complex novels.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On Critical Engagement with Books:
"If you couldn't go back and find [ideas in the text], you'd never be able to ... [critical engagement] would otherwise be unavailable to you."
—Joel Miller [05:55] -
On Individual Interpretation Enabled by Private Reading:
"It ultimately tends to erode community interpretations and help elevate individual interpretations. Where that matters...would be like religions, but it also matters in small scale stuff."
—Joel Miller [36:29] -
On Novels and Theory of Mind:
"Reading fiction increases your theory of mind, which is this cognitive ability to understand the thoughts and feelings of other people. Basically, you need theory of mind to socialize, right?"
—Brett McKay [49:35] -
On AI vs. Books:
"There is some deep soul and mind formation that happens when we read. That does not happen when we simply glean extracts from an LLM report..."
—Joel Miller [54:20]
Timestamps for Key Segments
| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |-------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:52–06:23 | The book as hardware: benefits of the codex over scrolls | | 10:30–12:45 | Books as time machines; changing meaning across rereading | | 13:02–17:19 | Socrates and Plato’s skepticism of writing | | 22:56–29:21 | The origins and early adoption of the codex | | 32:30–36:26 | Medieval monks, word spacing, and the emergence of silent reading | | 37:39–39:55 | Book proliferation after the printing press | | 44:41–51:18 | Novels, their rise, and why fiction matters for empathy | | 51:18–56:04 | State of reading today and thoughts on its future | | 56:04–58:32 | How AI and LLMs fit into reading and book culture |
Conclusion & Further Resources
Joel Miller concludes that, despite technological change, the book persists as an unsurpassed “idea machine” essential to both individual thought and societal progress. AI can supplement literacy and comprehension but will likely never replace the deep mind- and soul-shaping powers of books.
Find Joel Miller’s work at: millersbookreview.com
Show notes and more resources: aom.is/books
This summary captures the substance, insights, and highlights from the episode, retaining the engaging style and clarity of the original conversation.