Ask HN: I'm interested in so many disciplines, but what can I do with that?

Instead, just having a place where I can talk about whatever I want, without obligation seems to create the most opportunities. Sometimes that's Calmly Writer. Sometimes Roam Research. Sometimes even just replying on Hacker News can be useful. I particularly like writing on Hacker News because it gives you a sense of what really vibes with people without overwhelming an audience. It's a great testing ground.

Over time, writing often seems to clarify these cognitive structures in my head and give me a better intuition for what I want to say.

It's a very meditative process and I would say the best thing you can do is go into it without expectation.

Just have a place where you can write without expectation. And a place where you can write where people will watch.

As a product manager, you could study culture, arts, technology, politics, etc. All seems relevant to designing and improving products.

Thanks for this reply! Really cool suggestions. I definitely should dig around arts and philosophy more, especially in ways you've suggested!

Question: Are you able to give example(s) of #2? Like you mean something by Aiweiei would count right? I came across a few books of his and thought was pretty cool.

Ai Weiwei would definitely count! In reality all western contemporary art, and to a more limited extent also contemporary art made artists in other regions of the globe, is political art. Political art here doesn't mean art related to the institutions of politics, as sometimes it is assumed in some circles. All art that raises questions about how we relate to each other in our societies is inherently political. (We are reminded that the etymology of politics is the Greek polis, the city-state in the Ancient Greece.)

So I could provide you with countless examples of political art/artists, from Claudia Andujar, to Trevor Paglen, to Forensic Architecture, to name just a few that influenced me the most – And I am sure you are familiar with true superstars such as Banksy, don't you? But this is just the tip of the iceberg; there is a galaxy of artists doing politically engaged art. Some of the most recurring themes nowadays are: gender politics, power, and sustainability.

Before leaving, as you mentioned the Ask HN re alternative career paths, I will take this opportunity to tell you that I am a (concerned) cybersecurity technologist by background with 20+ years of professional experience, who has approached, at mid-career, the arts as a way to distill my thoughts and raise questions about the world and time we live in. Some of the societal challenges related to my professional career form one the main thematic areas for my oeuvre. In my practice, I examine the aesthetics and politics of surveillance, traumatic memory, and sustainability. I will leave you below a few links:

* LI: https://it.linkedin.com/in/alfonsodegregorio * Artist practice website (to be updated): https://www.escapingphotons.com * Latest body of work: https://phmuseum.com/adg/story/retained-reports-1b29a4727a