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I don't see the benefit of this when you can reach for the internet and find a magnitude of thoughts on the very same issue with a very different perspective. I

by gochi 3y ago

I don't see the benefit of this when you can reach for the internet and find a magnitude of thoughts on the very same issue with a very different perspective. I also think thoughts from others are the only way to adjust your own bias about the issue. Rather the benefit seems to mostly stem from freeing up mental space by removing whatever the thought was that you want to cling to, and putting it somewhere else that "feels" permanent. That feeling is important because it allows your brain to drop it, rather than feel like you have to continue to think about it out of fear of "forgetting".

kouru225 3y ago
It doesn’t help to find different thoughts on the same issue because you can’t relate to the majority of them. When you find out that you, yourself, came to different opinions of the same subject, then you end up having a practical understanding of that POV. You have to understand where that differing POV connects with other POVs. The bridge between the two is what matters here; not the content.
- gochi 3y ago
  Why can I not relate to the majority of them? It's a basic feature of empathy.
  - kouru225 3y ago
    Relating may be the wrong word. Its one thing to empathize with someone’s pov, but it’s another to recreate it. We all are living, in some respect, in response to our environment. You can empathize with another’s pov but that doesn’t mean you have a full understanding of the ecosystem of thoughts that led them to their conclusions. What I’m saying is that as our environment changes over time, your ecosystem of thoughts change, and if you put those thoughts down at the moment then you can find moments in your past when you, too, came to the same conclusion as other people. That way you can relate not only to their opinion, but to the environment that the opinion was (in some respect) created in response to. You can then relate not just to their conscious pov but to the unsaid subconscious aspects of their pov as well. It allows you to find connections you previously wouldn’t have found. It also has helped me change my perception of myself.
whats_a_quasar 3y ago
In my experience, going to the internet to get whatever random thoughts a search algorithm turns up for me can feel interesting, but is almost always counterproductive. Other people have different circumstances, different experiences, and while some content on the internet is good, a lot of it is just crap. Most of the work is in thinking through things for yourself, organizing information, and synthesizing some outcome. Internet browsing is like junk food, and doesn't do a good job substituting for that. Also, you mention "thoughts from others are the only way to adjust your own bias." I definitely agree with that, but I want to get thoughts from people who I know and trust. If you adjust your biases based on the cacophony of the internet it's much more likely that you'll get swept up in other people's biases instead
MSFT_Edging 3y ago
One thing I've experienced is I often need to rephrase a concept in my own words and understanding to truly grok it. An online resource using a lot of context specific phrases, that l'll need to spend time to define and understand individually, just to build up that greater understanding of a topic is a bit of a time sink. It's helpful to have a note on something in one's own voice that helps you return to that frame of mind.

by gochi 3y ago

kouru225 3y ago

It doesn’t help to find different thoughts on the same issue because you can’t relate to the majority of them. When you find out that you, yourself, came to different opinions of the same subject, then you end up having a practical understanding of that POV. You have to understand where that differing POV connects with other POVs. The bridge between the two is what matters here; not the content.

gochi 3y ago
Why can I not relate to the majority of them? It's a basic feature of empathy.
- kouru225 3y ago
  Relating may be the wrong word. Its one thing to empathize with someone’s pov, but it’s another to recreate it. We all are living, in some respect, in response to our environment. You can empathize with another’s pov but that doesn’t mean you have a full understanding of the ecosystem of thoughts that led them to their conclusions. What I’m saying is that as our environment changes over time, your ecosystem of thoughts change, and if you put those thoughts down at the moment then you can find moments in your past when you, too, came to the same conclusion as other people. That way you can relate not only to their opinion, but to the environment that the opinion was (in some respect) created in response to. You can then relate not just to their conscious pov but to the unsaid subconscious aspects of their pov as well. It allows you to find connections you previously wouldn’t have found. It also has helped me change my perception of myself.

whats_a_quasar 3y ago

In my experience, going to the internet to get whatever random thoughts a search algorithm turns up for me can feel interesting, but is almost always counterproductive. Other people have different circumstances, different experiences, and while some content on the internet is good, a lot of it is just crap. Most of the work is in thinking through things for yourself, organizing information, and synthesizing some outcome. Internet browsing is like junk food, and doesn't do a good job substituting for that. Also, you mention "thoughts from others are the only way to adjust your own bias." I definitely agree with that, but I want to get thoughts from people who I know and trust. If you adjust your biases based on the cacophony of the internet it's much more likely that you'll get swept up in other people's biases instead

MSFT_Edging 3y ago

One thing I've experienced is I often need to rephrase a concept in my own words and understanding to truly grok it. An online resource using a lot of context specific phrases, that l'll need to spend time to define and understand individually, just to build up that greater understanding of a topic is a bit of a time sink. It's helpful to have a note on something in one's own voice that helps you return to that frame of mind.