Setting up a knowledge ecosystem
In a previous post, I outlined that I am obsessed with getting smarter. To (try to) achieve that I have developed something of sorts of a knowledge ecosystem - systems, tools and processes to streamline knowledge from various sources. I’ll proceed with two caveats. First, this is not comprehensive. Second, am I always tweaking this system, so this in not the final version. It’s all about fine tuning to your individual preferences. Follow the principle, not the routine.
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In some sense, I am writing this to my 18 year old self. These are things I wish he would have done. But regardless of your age, it’s never too late to start.
Get on twitter
If there ever was a church about persuading people to join twitter, I’d be the chief priest. The absolute learning potential of the platform is immense. If you follow the right accounts, have the right interactions, the platform is a never ending treasure trove. I’ve written a full fledged guide on how to optimize twitter as a learning tool here, but in simple words, the trick is to not use it as a social network at all, and god, of course not as LinkedIn. Use it as a pure learning platform, and the rewards are endless.
To get you started, here’s a list of accounts worth following (in no order):
Use an RSS feed reader
I think this was the other great thing to happen to me, along with twitter. We all subscribe to so many things on the internet, but most of these issues end up laying unopened and unread in our emails. What any RSS feed reader basically does is that it creates a centralized home page for all the issues of the publications you subscribe to. New issues are added as and when they are released. It is a one stop shop to read all the publications you subscribe to. Guess what? It’s free. I personally use feeder.
Here’s a screen grab of the home in feeder.
Here’s a list of blogs worth reading (in no order):
Listen to podcasts
That’s it. It is a no brainer. There is so much information packed into audio that’s just waiting to be discovered. It’s all free. I’ve been convincing my friends since forever to start listening to podcasts, but my persuasions are usually met with the excuses - “I don’t think they’re my thing”, or “I don’t know when to listen”. For first, I always say - try. Try out some podcasts, and formats. You’ll find the right fit. Person podcast fit. lol. For the second, I listen to podcasts while strolling, or travelling, or sometimes before sleep. As an aside, I think podcasts have impacted my intellectual development more than either written form, or video (I’ve been an avid podcast listener for around 4 years now). They don’t suffer from the distractions of the written form or videos (the fact that you can swap or switch content and apps very easily) since once you put on an episode, you lock the phone (usually). And at lest to me, audio is intimate. It seems as if I am friends with these incredible hosts.
Jokes aside - do yourself a favor and start listening to podcasts. You don’t have to listen to the 3 hour long episode in one go, you can listen in chunks and pieces. Do your thing. But try. (Also if you’ve developed an aversion to podcasts after listening to the likes of the ranveer show or other quacks on youtube - don’t worry, we don’t do that here)
Here is a list of podcasts I think you should give a listen (in no order):
There are two platforms I do not use as much for educational/learning purposes. Youtube and Instagram. I think Instagram particularly, is a pure social media application based on comparison and signaling. I actually do not know how one could get anything of learning value even if one tried. I’m there for the memes, reels and my friends. Ideally, I shouldn’t be. Oh wait, I had written once I’ll never go back. Guess that didn’t work out.
Even though there are great channels on YT as well, the issue with it is that the potential to fall back on funny videos, and cat reels is always high. But of course, if you train the algorithm well enough, your content will be good. My primary learning method with YT is to save good videos in my playlists. I have one private playlist for law and related things - that’s where all the good content goes. I think I will make it public now. No point keeping it private. Here. One channel I’ve been quite obsessed with recently is PSBT India - they make documentaries. Great ones.
I’ve also heard that Reddit is another great platform for exploring many things and going deep into rabbit holes. For some reason I have never given it a try, but from people who have, I’ve heard great reviews. Subscribe to sub-reddits and read on.
Read books
The most general of habits, most people stop reading books as they enter adulthood. Or significantly reduce the number of books they read. One simple truth to this is that it has got less to do with the workload and more to do with priorities. If reading books is your priority, you can take time out for that. Always. It has happened that I’ve not read a single book for months at a stretch when I was mostly free in life, and yet managed to read books while being very busy. It’s about priority. Anyway I don’t intend to make a case for why anyone should read books other than reiterating this common phrase:
A man who does not read books has no advantage over the man who cannot read.
I have a to-read book list in my google keep app. They’re a lot, for brevity I’m linking a notion page containing all of them. My recent favorites have been The psychology of money (my book review here), The city of djinns, Superintelligence, The evolution of everything, India’s founding moment, Normal people, Deep work and Stubborn attachments.
How to organize?
Sometimes it feels like the productivity craze is as old as time. Everyone wants to drop everything and listen to internet gurus as they deliver sermons on how to ‘optimize’ your life through productivity hacks. Another simple truth. Life has no hacks. It has systems. You build yours, tweak it till it works for you, and keep on keeping on. A new app will not give you the will to work. Fancy attributions are mostly just that - fancy attributions. I switched from notion to google docs for note taking precisely because of that. Here are a few apps I use to organize my thoughts, knowledge and life:
Google keep - For all my thoughts and observations. I label them for better organization.
Notion - For some heavier projects, or some that require collaboration.
Google docs - For note taking (academic).
Obsidian - I’m experimenting with this note taking app. Have heard it’s great. Plus personal plan is free.
Pocket - Save your articles to be read later. Free version lets you highlight thrice in an article.
Omnivore - Have replaced Pocket with this. You’ll have to be on waitlist for a while, but the functionality is great. Unlimited highlighting. Many sharing options. Although needs some fine tuning.
Google calendar - For setting up reminders and meetings.
This is the ecosystem I have built for myself to separate the signal from the noise on the internet. Do you want to as well? I’ve launched Asymptotic knowledge - a subscription based service that delivers you the best of the internet, weekly. 10 resources specially curated to make you smarter. Delivered directly to your inbox, or on a telegram group. What’s more is I’m giving first month free! Sign up to judge the quality of the service for yourself and you can opt in to any plans later. If you don’t want to, that’s fine. No strings attached.
If you want to know more about the product: Asymptotic knowledge - become smarter.
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