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Formula: "Interesting = Novel + Important" presented in an @PerellClips clip…

2026-08-07 · 15:30 UTC ·@PerellClips ·1 min read

Brief

Derek Thompson, quoted in an @PerellClips clip published 2026-08-07, defines "interesting" as the sum of novelty and importance: Interesting = Novel + Important. He recounts telling a young journalist that his goal is to be "interesting" and warns of two traps — important-but-not-novel (mathematics) and novel-but-not-important (tabloids) — and aims to live at that intersection.

Why it matters

Formula: "Interesting = Novel + Important" presented in an @PerellClips clip quoting Derek Thompson; clip published 2026-08-07 15:30:00+00:00.

Key details

  • Derek Thompson says his writing goal is to be "interesting" and defines that as the intersection of novelty and importance — he told a young journalist this when asked about her career.
  • He warns of two traps: subjects that are important but not novel (example: mathematics) and those that are novel but not actually important (example: tabloids); he tries to live at the intersection.
Source evidence

Here's the formula for interesting writing:

Interesting = Novel + Important

Derek Thompson explains:

"I was talking to a young journalist about her career, and she said: what are you trying to do with your writing? My answer was: I'm trying to be interesting."

"She asked: what the hell does that mean? I was like, to me, interesting is novel plus important. And you can fall into traps on either side of that peak."

"There's lots of things about mathematics, for example, that are importantly true, but there's nothing new about them. Meanwhile, you look at tabloids: lots of things that are new and seem important by virtue of their newness, but aren't actually important. I try to live at that intersection of importance plus novelty."

@DKThomp

Video