Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

You are what you read, even if you don't always remember it

blog.jim-nielsen.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

191–200 of 466 posts

Re: You are what you read, even if you don't always remember it

#191

Post by 7222aafdcf68cfe »

kieckerjan wrote: post #182

A corollary of this idea that also the bad stuff that you read leaves a trace, and not necessarily a good trace. To continue the food metaphor: like junk food there is junk reading and while it may satisfy some need it is all informational empty calories and transfats. Which brings up a subject I pondered many times: to go on an information diet. Any thoughts on that would be appreciated.

In this context, I often refer to the essay by Rolf Dobelli, titled Avoid News: Towards a Healthy News Diet.

It can be found on the Internet Archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20130117104220/http://dobelli.co...

Re: You are what you read, even if you don't always remember it

#192

Post by eviks »

This is just a convenient excuse, just like this

> Education is something you have even if you don't remember anything

Though the professor's test is just as poor quality as the whole blog's conversation where intellectual exercise is compared to remembering breakfasts

Re: You are what you read, even if you don't always remember it

#193

Post by keiferski »

JacobiX wrote: post #188
keiferski wrote: post #153

I love reading as much as anyone, and probably finish on average, 100 books a year, but - I’ve gradually become skeptical of the idea that books are an ideal format for acquiring and retaining knowledge. I’ve written a few little comments about this in the past [1] but I’ve been meaning to explore the idea further. I originally began thinking this when I realized I could only remember a handful of details from books…

I agree with you, maybe books are not the ideal format for acquiring knowledge. I read a lot of fiction books, mainly classics for pleasure. And what I found unique is that only in books I have access to the interior monologue of the characters, their thoughts, and on some occasions, direct access to their "stream of consciousness". I love it, and I discovered that some characters (but in reality it's the authors) ha…

Yeah the funny thing is that the result of my realization above, is that I end up reading much more fiction - and appreciating fiction more than nonfiction.

There is a general assumption, I think, that fiction isn’t really worth reading and that serious people only read nonfiction. I don’t think I could disagree more. Really good fiction is entirely its own unique thing.

Re: You are what you read, even if you don't always remember it

#194

Post by ChaitanyaSai »

There's an even more profound truth here. You are what you experience, even if you don't always remember each one. You are a constellation of experiences. Consciousness is the consensus mechanism that stitches them together to make you.

This can sound like spiritual woo-woo but that's the distillation of a pretty good scientific model. More here: https://saigaddam.medium.com/consciousness-is-a-consensus-me...

Re: You are what you read, even if you don't always remember it

#195

Post by eviks »

kieckerjan wrote: post #182

A corollary of this idea that also the bad stuff that you read leaves a trace, and not necessarily a good trace. To continue the food metaphor: like junk food there is junk reading and while it may satisfy some need it is all informational empty calories and transfats. Which brings up a subject I pondered many times: to go on an information diet. Any thoughts on that would be appreciated.

Since the "good" stuff can also leave a bad trace, and there is nothing to measure (remember, it's there even if you don't remember it), how would you approach the diet composition?

Re: You are what you read, even if you don't always remember it

#197

Post by 7222aafdcf68cfe »

kevindamm wrote: post #2

Is the Internet a great enabler or is it holding the majority of us back? Does this mean I'll never escape the influence of those decades of corporate email?

It might be both ?

I like to believe the internet is a great enabler when it comes to finding or accessing information, unfortunately discovery has become progressively worse for a long time now.

The internet is also a massive distraction as Sturgeon's Law applies fully, and certain participants optimize for capturing attention with low value content. It definitely holds us back, and leads to multiple adverse outcomes.

imo, engaging with the current day Internet must be done carefully as it's not all good, some days that works better than others.

Re: You are what you read, even if you don't always remember it

#198

Post by [deleted] »

kieckerjan wrote: post #182

A corollary of this idea that also the bad stuff that you read leaves a trace, and not necessarily a good trace. To continue the food metaphor: like junk food there is junk reading and while it may satisfy some need it is all informational empty calories and transfats. Which brings up a subject I pondered many times: to go on an information diet. Any thoughts on that would be appreciated.

[deleted]

Re: You are what you read, even if you don't always remember it

#199

Post by b112 »

keiferski wrote: post #168
y04nn wrote: post #25

Don't forget that you are the result of all the past sensory interactions that you experienced in your whole life, people you interacted with, books you read, advertisements, songs, news headlines, etc. Even if you think you don't remember them, at one point in your life it was processed by your brain and may have changed some posterior decisions you made, thus making you what you are now. Since I realized this, I am…

This is pretty trite if you stop to think about it. “Everything in your life that you experience has an effect on your experience of life.” We all exist in the world, not apart from it, and no amount of exclusion or creation of “sterile spaces” will change that.

Indeed. Although as with anything, moderation is key. Not too much, or too little. Listening to 4 hours a day of Tiktok or Youtube boneheads, probably isn't all that good for the average person.

(I'm not referring to intellectual videos, but instead just "some random person" that has amassed 10M followers because they .. well I don't know what they do, except market themselves well. Then start blathering on about literally the dumbest blather ever.

For example, taking medical advice from some guy living in a van, or taking scientific advice from some dude who doesn't even understand ... anything.

Populism to the extreme. Lookit me, I'm purdy, ergo my opinion on everything supersedes everyone.)

Re: You are what you read, even if you don't always remember it

#200

Post by starbugs »

y04nn wrote: post #25

Don't forget that you are the result of all the past sensory interactions that you experienced in your whole life, people you interacted with, books you read, advertisements, songs, news headlines, etc. Even if you think you don't remember them, at one point in your life it was processed by your brain and may have changed some posterior decisions you made, thus making you what you are now. Since I realized this, I am…

Even more important might be the realization that most of it is not within your power to control. You didn't come up with the vast majority of what's shaped you.
Post reply on HN