4 ms·

I'd argue if you take away nothing unique from reading something that everyone else also read, that's its own problem. I have the opposite issue, I tend to thi

I'd argue if you take away nothing unique from reading something that everyone else also read, that's its own problem. I have the opposite issue, I tend to think a little differently which makes it hard to be a good communicator some times, but I have had some luck seeing things a new way when working on some problems. I think you shouldn't avoid reading something just because others do unless your plan is to just parrot some lesser-known author, pushing their thoughts off as your own. Gather all the data you can from all available sources and think critically. Anticonformity IS conformity.

mindcrime 5y ago
I'd probably rephrase the original statement in the title as "Don't only read what other people are reading." I do agree that there is some value in getting "off the beaten path" from time to time, and I see that as being something of a feedback loop with what you're talking about. I believe that a lot of what a reader takes away from a Work A (which everyone reads) involves what is in the reader initially, which may be related to their having read Work B (something pretty much no one reads). Anticonformity IS conformity. Well said.