Ask HN: I feel like I'm in a filter bubble. How can I “expand my horizons”? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: I feel like I'm in a filter bubble. How can I “expand my horizons”?

#51

Post by design-of-homes » Sun, May 10, 2015, 12:07 PM UTC

ajdecon wrote: post #5

Go to the library. (Yes, the place with all the books. ;-) ) Wander through the nonfiction section and scan the titles. If anything catches your eye, pick it up and read the first couple pages. If it seems at all interesting, check it out and read it. This technique is responsible for my reading in depth about the history of shipping containers, learning just a little bit about how to do interior design, and reading…

Excellent advice about the library. An anecdote from me: a few years ago I was researching the Swiss architect Le Corbusier. I wanted to find out about his famous housing complex called Unité d'habitation (Housing Unit) first built in Marseille in France. I started my research online looking for floorplans and commentary or critques. I found very little (there is a lot more available online today, but not when I was looking).

Consider that Le Corbusier is one of the most famous architects of the 20th century so this was a surprise. Eventually, I did find what I was looking for by going to the library and visiting an architecture exhibition. The point of all this is that we assume everything is mostly online and so it's our first port of call for any research or knowledge gathering. But there is a huge amount of information and knowledge found in books that have never made it online. If you never go to the library, you simply won't realise what you're missing.

Re: Ask HN: I feel like I'm in a filter bubble. How can I “expand my horizons”?

#52

Post by joezjwang » Mon, May 11, 2015, 4:35 AM UTC

The world is not all described in English. Not all ideas originate from the English sources like HN. If you have friends from other parts of the world ask them what books/blogs they read in their own language. This goes along with comments about learning a new language

Re: Ask HN: I feel like I'm in a filter bubble. How can I “expand my horizons”?

#53

Post by scholia » Mon, May 11, 2015, 4:07 PM UTC

thenomad wrote: post #50

scholia wrote: post #27

You're in a filter bubble because you're doing your own curation. Historically, many if not most thinking people let someone else do their curation, ie they read a good newspaper or magazine. Magazines such as The Economist and New Scientist have journalists and editors who keep a close eye on significant parts of the world and then report them in digestible form. With a good newspaper or magazine, you're exposed to…

The Economist is particularly good. Definitely worth reading if you don't already do so. Although they have a filter bubble of their own, it probably doesn't perfectly align with yours.

Great point! It's certainly true that The Economist (like similar publications) has its own filter bubbles, but (a) it's based on input from hundreds of people; and (b) the editorial intent is to find and present new and disruptive ideas. It's the opposite of, say, Fox News, where the aim is to reinforce existing stereotypes.

I guess you have to choose your publications wisely....

Re: Ask HN: I feel like I'm in a filter bubble. How can I “expand my horizons”?

#54

Post by tanderson92 » Wed, May 13, 2015, 12:15 AM UTC

devalier wrote: post #44

tanderson92 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please do! I at least would enjoy reading about any and all of those topics. The learning about new things is what fascinates and interests me and I would prefer reading about things I have previously no idea about. Very much appreciated if you could share some of these things you've learned.

Do you have one or two of the topics you are most interested in? It would take up too much time to dig up a worthwhile list for them all :-P

A study of the economy would be great. Also interesting would be as you described "Were the American colonists really right to rebel from the British, or is that just winner's history?"

A study of "dating & relationships" would be good too (I assume this would cover all interpersonal relationships, i.e. how to be a good friend and win friends over)

Re: Ask HN: I feel like I'm in a filter bubble. How can I “expand my horizons”?

#55

Post by kirang1989 » Sun, May 17, 2015, 7:14 AM UTC

francis- wrote: post #32

Quit your job. Drop LSD repeatedly over the course of a week. Stop reddit usage (reddit is a watering hole for morons). Learn LISP (it is more of a trip than acid). Find controversial people, read and understand their viewpoint. Do mathematics. Good luck.

> Stop reddit usage (reddit is a watering hole for morons).

Disagree. Reddit is a treasure trove if you're subscribed to the right topics.