To me a very strong starting place in the world of self-curating information is just to ask yourself "Is my opinion or knowledge of this topic both relevant and useful?" enough that you eventually get to the point where you can say, out loud, without worry, "I'm not in a position to have an opinion on that topic."
Once you get there other tools of self-moderation come naturally.
It's easier to say than to do, though. You will always have an opinion and your brain will always work to justify it. It takes a lot of work to recognize that your opinion has neither relevance nor usefulness. The good thing is it becomes easier over time.
As someone who liberally blocks/mutes people on Twitter and even Notes, I'm liking the idea of a personal information defense system. But there has to be a systematic way of doing it. As it is, I feel like I'm just killing the worker ants while their queen/hive is still out there somewhere.
Thanks for this post. Self-curation is definitely needed.
Your discussion of "information" reminded me of Byung-Chul Han's book, Non-Things. He writes about the shift from a materialistic society to one dominated by information: "We are literally becoming intoxicated with information...The industrial revolution solidified and expanded the sphere of things, distancing us from nature and the crafts. But only digitalization puts an end to the paradigm of the thing. It subordinates things to information."
I think the shield is great. We must also be willing to engage with content that acts as our sword. It will never be enough to be on the defense. As iron sharpens iron... enjoying your insights, Zack!
Too funny to find so many similar thoughts and perspectives roaming about the valleys and peaks within the Substack dimension. I have been working out my own psychic shields (very much in that framing) for a year and a half now and through my slow detachment from the hypnotic web of information I found myself entangled with. Through a combination of both physical and psychic removal of my presence, or personal information, I have been becoming aware of the psychic attacks that have been growing with the consumption of information over the past decade.
I agree with you, Zack, that moderation is the key to survival. Information is the most powerful weapon and to set intention about the consumption of it is the only way to keep ours heads above water and, for me, to keep myself grounded in my being. The amount of information I have slowly filtered out of my life has left me with increased mental and physical energy that I before felt was drained. One way I have been approaching information is to consider what I will use it for. News is the simplest example in that, yes I have much empathy for the world, but view the information I ingest as but one perspective that is being shared. Skepticism is always helpful (https://media.giphy.com/media/bjB3gtFvREqqr5NAHW/giphy.gif). Another has been transitioning the screens I interact with to greyscale. I'm enjoying finding new ways to construct my shielding and hope the trend will spread to us all who are connected within the web.
Thanks for all those thoughts Leonard! I tried greyscale for a while and may need to experiment with it again. At the end of the day, the battle is at the level of the will or the mind, which needs renewal. I’ll add the short story to the List (carefully. Shields up 😃)
To me a very strong starting place in the world of self-curating information is just to ask yourself "Is my opinion or knowledge of this topic both relevant and useful?" enough that you eventually get to the point where you can say, out loud, without worry, "I'm not in a position to have an opinion on that topic."
Once you get there other tools of self-moderation come naturally.
It's easier to say than to do, though. You will always have an opinion and your brain will always work to justify it. It takes a lot of work to recognize that your opinion has neither relevance nor usefulness. The good thing is it becomes easier over time.
As someone who liberally blocks/mutes people on Twitter and even Notes, I'm liking the idea of a personal information defense system. But there has to be a systematic way of doing it. As it is, I feel like I'm just killing the worker ants while their queen/hive is still out there somewhere.
Thanks for this post. Self-curation is definitely needed.
Your discussion of "information" reminded me of Byung-Chul Han's book, Non-Things. He writes about the shift from a materialistic society to one dominated by information: "We are literally becoming intoxicated with information...The industrial revolution solidified and expanded the sphere of things, distancing us from nature and the crafts. But only digitalization puts an end to the paradigm of the thing. It subordinates things to information."
I think the shield is great. We must also be willing to engage with content that acts as our sword. It will never be enough to be on the defense. As iron sharpens iron... enjoying your insights, Zack!
Too funny to find so many similar thoughts and perspectives roaming about the valleys and peaks within the Substack dimension. I have been working out my own psychic shields (very much in that framing) for a year and a half now and through my slow detachment from the hypnotic web of information I found myself entangled with. Through a combination of both physical and psychic removal of my presence, or personal information, I have been becoming aware of the psychic attacks that have been growing with the consumption of information over the past decade.
I agree with you, Zack, that moderation is the key to survival. Information is the most powerful weapon and to set intention about the consumption of it is the only way to keep ours heads above water and, for me, to keep myself grounded in my being. The amount of information I have slowly filtered out of my life has left me with increased mental and physical energy that I before felt was drained. One way I have been approaching information is to consider what I will use it for. News is the simplest example in that, yes I have much empathy for the world, but view the information I ingest as but one perspective that is being shared. Skepticism is always helpful (https://media.giphy.com/media/bjB3gtFvREqqr5NAHW/giphy.gif). Another has been transitioning the screens I interact with to greyscale. I'm enjoying finding new ways to construct my shielding and hope the trend will spread to us all who are connected within the web.
I'll leave you with a short story that I have been really loving and meditating on for the past six months: http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/blit.htm
Thanks for all those thoughts Leonard! I tried greyscale for a while and may need to experiment with it again. At the end of the day, the battle is at the level of the will or the mind, which needs renewal. I’ll add the short story to the List (carefully. Shields up 😃)