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Ask HN: When Topics Affect Me but I Am Not Aware and Not Interested

2 points by 11thEarlOfMar 11y ago

I'm contemplating a Venn Diagram with three circles: 1. News topics and information I am Interested In; 2. News topics and information I am Aware Of; 3. News topics and information that Affect My Life. There is a section of topics in the diagram that Affect My Life and which I am Aware Of. As I delve into those topics online, Google et al learn what those topics are and feed me more related items and life is good. I become informed about new items in topics that I am Interested In and Aware Of. But I am developing an anxiety about topics in the section of the diagram which Affect My Life and which I am not Aware Of and not Interested In. I know of no path via my behavior or online services that will introduce to me information that Affect My Life, I am not Aware Of, and not yet Interested In. Except by chance. Regrettably, I don't have the spare time to spend deliberately seeking out topics in that section of the diagram via random searching. I initially tried to develop examples of such topics, then realized that I couldn't conceive of examples because I don't know what I don't know.... Yet I am convinced they are out there and that it is valuable to have a deterministic way to discover them. The anxiety is that if I don't discover them, the consequence will surprise me in a bad way, or, I will be somehow suffering or disadvantaged without ever knowing it. To a lesser extent, that I'm missing news items or information from topics that would enhance my life. So my question for Hacker News is: Is this a real problem or am I deluded? If it's real, is it already solved? If not solved can it be solved with technology? Or via a curated service? If I am deluded, or there is an available solution, then thanks for letting me know and I can get back to work.

PopeOfNope 11y ago
You're deluded. It's ok, we all are. Our brains are hard wired to seek out data just like our brains are hard wired to seek out sugar. Both were rare in the olden days and could extend your life. These days, we have too much of both. That said, if you were to see something that matched your venn diagram of Affects your life, not Aware Of and not yet Interested In, would you even know it? Most people wouldn't, because new information in that category often threatens their world view. I seek out information in a similar venn, but mine looks more like Affects Your Life, not Aware Of, but very Interested In. I'm not interested specifically in any particular topic, but I'm very interested in anything that challenges my current perception of the world, no matter where it comes from. As a result, I read a lot of blogs and twitter feeds written by people most would consider mentally deranged. Except they're not mentally deranged; they're often more rigorously logical than their detractors. As for how to automate the task of finding this information, I have high hopes for machine learning and neural networking, but my own exploration of that area is in its infancy.

2 points by 11thEarlOfMar 11y ago

PopeOfNope 11y ago

You're deluded. It's ok, we all are. Our brains are hard wired to seek out data just like our brains are hard wired to seek out sugar. Both were rare in the olden days and could extend your life. These days, we have too much of both. That said, if you were to see something that matched your venn diagram of Affects your life, not Aware Of and not yet Interested In, would you even know it? Most people wouldn't, because new information in that category often threatens their world view. I seek out information in a similar venn, but mine looks more like Affects Your Life, not Aware Of, but very Interested In. I'm not interested specifically in any particular topic, but I'm very interested in anything that challenges my current perception of the world, no matter where it comes from. As a result, I read a lot of blogs and twitter feeds written by people most would consider mentally deranged. Except they're not mentally deranged; they're often more rigorously logical than their detractors. As for how to automate the task of finding this information, I have high hopes for machine learning and neural networking, but my own exploration of that area is in its infancy.