Rules restrict the diversity of your learning and restricts your knowledge. You don't have time for everything, so it's good to have rules. But always remember

Rules restrict the diversity of your learning and restricts your knowledge. You don't have time for everything, so it's good to have rules. But always remember that on occasion you need to break your own rules otherwise your knowledge becomes biased. My extra rule to overcome this bias is. Anyone who recommends me their favorite book I will read it no matter how stupid I believe the recommendation is, no matter how many rules it violates. I found the DaVinci code this way. That book was a huge mistake, but still I now have actually read the book and have the definitive knowledge to know it's a mistake.