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I feel, and I think it's a common thread for my generation, that we have grown weary of drinking from the information firehose. The internet has become like hig
by kingkongjaffa 4y ago
I feel, and I think it's a common thread for my generation, that we have grown weary of drinking from the information firehose. The internet has become like high fructose corn syrup for our brains. We're fat with it. So I want to consume less (low quality information) and create more.
I like the idea of "note-writing as fundamental unit of knowledge work"[1]
My resolution this year is to read more and to write more, and to write better. With the main purpose being to "think better".[2]
More than any other blog I go back to Andy Matuschak's. A close second is Buster Benson's[3].
[1] https://notes.andymatuschak.org/Evergreen_notes?stackedNotes=z3SjnvsB5aR2ddsycyXofbYR7fCxo7RmKW2be https://notes.andymatuschak.org/Evergreen_notes?stackedNotes...
[2] https://notes.andymatuschak.org/z7kEFe6NfUSgtaDuUjST1oczKKzQQeQWk4Dbc https://notes.andymatuschak.org/z7kEFe6NfUSgtaDuUjST1oczKKzQ...
[3] https://buster.wiki/me/ https://buster.wiki/me/
- bradhe 4y agoSomething paradoxical about wishing to create more information and simultaneously wishing to consume less of it.
- rex_lupi 4y agoNothing paradoxical. Creation and consumption are two opposite things. Creation requires active brainpower. Passively consuming what others have already created just devoids one's brain of the creative powers.
- kimburgess 4y agoAlso, on the topic of note taking, creation does't necessarily mean for others.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- slothtrop 4y agoI think this misses the point the other user probably tried to make. Yes, it can be good to bias towards taking action particularly when passive consumption is the prevailing habit. That need not take the form of creating more fodder for consumption, which can appear redundant. Absent all the niceties of modern life that deliver the means of this consumption, people in general were not full-bore creatives (I believe this is consistent even if you account for leisure time).
- alberto7 4y agoExcept information is never really "consumed", more like "copied and integrated".
- nayuki 4y agoNot really. Doing so would lower the average number of readings per article. In the most extreme case, this would lead to every article being write-only and never read by anyone. Of course this is absurd because writing takes so much more effort than reading, and the vast majority of people will be consumers without writing anything (except short private chats).
- bovermyer 4y agoYeah, and on a similar note, I'm done with thinking globally. I'm tired of wanting the world to be a better place and designing systems for the entire world. Instead, I want to focus on small scale local problems.
- marssaxman 4y agoHow do you decide which small-scale local problems are worth focusing on, without the big-picture view providing a frame for your priorities? I used to order my life around thinking globally and acting locally, but humanity has closed the doors to the kinds of futures I was working toward, and there is nothing in the global view which inspires me anymore. There are still plenty of things I can do on a small scale, but the choice seems arbitrary without the context of a larger story. I wonder how you are getting past that obstacle and finding motivation for the small scale work.
- swader999 4y agoDon't overthink it. There's likely only a few things you can do locally. Pick one or two that interest you the most or that you think you can have the biggest impact on.
- bovermyer 4y agoThe small scale is pretty obvious; if it's a problem for the local community, then it's a problem to care about. There are lots of small, local problems. The choice isn't arbitrary - it's whatever you think you are best suited to fix.
- scottwick 4y ago> but humanity has closed the doors to the kinds of futures I was working toward Curious to hear more about what you mean by this.
- marssaxman 4y agoMy personal philosophy includes a strong vein of deep ecology, with a political view influenced by mutualist anarchism. I wanted to be part of a humanity which got its act together, tore down its oppressive hierarchies, adapted to its limits, and learned to respect not only each other, but the whole of the ecosystem we live within. That can no longer happen; we've already gone so far (with CO2 emissions especially) that everything, everywhere, has been or will be disrupted and damaged by human industry.
- Utkarsh_Mood 4y agoany other tips you've read/received on writing concisely in general?