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A philosophy of information consumption #1: periods of consumption vs. assimilation
I propose alternating between distinct periods of information consumption and knowledge production to combat information overwhelm.
- Information consumption is fundamental for acquiring wisdom and perspective.
- It becomes a comfortable yet ultimately dissatisfying compromise when we avoid confronting knowledge through practice.
- There are two core problems of information navigation
- The Information Hose: a continuous stream of “currently relevant” information
- The Bottomless Waters of Knowledge: there is always more to learn, more ways to perfect understanding
- One can alternate between two periods of information navigation
- Period 1: Consumption
- Period 2: Surfacing and Organising Knowledge
- Producing knowledge despite feeling incomplete in our competence
The recursive effect in alternating these two periods improves both our ability to consume meaningfully and our capacity to surface the wisdom we already possess.
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Common culture turns the complex-and-odd into fluid-and-simple
Why certain concepts remain trapped at the rational level when we lack the cultural-linguistic tools to express them fluidly.
- Untranslatable words capture feelings not distinctly named in other languages
- Without single-word expressions, we struggle to convey complex concepts with the same speed in everyday conversation
- Ideas codified into single words are closer to being understood instinctually
- Countless phenomena slip through the cracks - ideas that don't circulate because they haven't been conventionally codified into a single concept
- Language only works in community - Complex ideas acquire communicational velocity and development by being part of a culture shared with others.
- Common cultures don't need to start large. They can begin with small groups of people who feel the world in a similar way
- These groups seek ways of giving some kind of form to this experiencing of the world
- As shared cultural symbols become more intelligible, the culture broadens and proliferates
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Modern apps and old files – inconvenient entries and easy interiors
- Modern apps: easy to download, painful to use once inside (constant ads, subscriptions, permissions, feature bloat)
- Old software: hard to find/install, but once you have it, it just works with no strings attached
- A call for a return to the "old software" model - difficult entry but peaceful, functional interiors - rather than the current "big hotel" approach of easy entry but constant upselling and interference.
- A future where simple, indie software that just does its job becomes the norm, and creating your own basic tools becomes accessible to everyone.