How do you find "cutting edge" information? \ stacker news ~AskSN

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How do you find "cutting edge" information?

1487 sats \ 19 comments \ @birdeye21 31 Jul AskSN

Have you ever taken on a new job and realize how much new information you have to educate yourself on to get up to speed?

Best way i can explain this is with an example.

Let's say I'm brand new to Bitcoin and want to get caught up on the latest and greatest in the Bitcoin development scene.

What are the important BIPs being discussed? What trends are crucial to be on top of? Who are the "right voices" to be listening to? Where do I go to find this information? How can i ensure reliability with the answers I'm getting??

This example can apply to any topic, but I guess what I'm ultimately wondering is: What are the practical steps behind the process of getting obsessed with something?

In reality, true obsession is natural and unfolds wherever the mind gravitates, but in the case where a person need to insert "obsession" for any reason, how would you write the "playbook" for that person?

I imagine you teachers out there would have some good insight to share!

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154 sats \ 0 replies \ @SimpleStacker 31 Jul

AI is good for catching you up to speed on the stuff that is already considered well known / consensus.

To catch up to speed on what's hot, you need to hang around the right places. For Bitcoin i'd lurk the bitcoincore mailing list.

Reliability is a tricky thing. Following the opinions of famous experts will get you up to speed on what the mainstream consensus view is, and that's usually reliable, but not always.

133 sats \ 2 replies \ @Scoresby 31 Jul

Most subjects have an online community. It's a feature of the internet (or perhaps just social media) that these communities aren't all on the same platforms.

The bitcoiners are using nostr and x mostly (reddit a little, but my experience is there is better info on the first two).
The environmental people are all on LinkedIn.
Private equity investors are using private forums.

The hardest part is figuring out where the community is. Once you have a line on that, you can listen in and usually get a crash course on what you need to know just by following along with the conversation. I find that lurking for a while usually reveals where cutting edge stuff is happening (discords, mailing lists, real life meetups).

102 sats \ 1 reply \ @birdeye21 OP 1 Aug

Yep, only danger there is you dont have frame of reference and you get swept up into nonsense communities under the impression that it's what "most people" are concerned with at the moment, that's where the reliability part becomes so important.

I guess trial and error is an unavoidable component to obsession

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Scoresby 1 Aug

fair point. maybe my advice should be combined with a strong admonition to take no strong stance for at least 100 hours or something like this.

122 sats \ 3 replies \ @billytheked 31 Jul

when i was in school i fed obsessions with the library cataloge. i was lucky because i had access to a world class library. i would normally start with a wikipedia entry, use the footnotes to get started with basic sources--figuring out who the prominent voices/authorities are on the topic is the first thread you want to pull--if you read them and find them interesting, try figuring out who they were reading (again, using footnotes/references).

i think it's basically what happened to me with bitcoin, except that the "references" are a little more convoluted, hence the idea that it is a "rabbit hole."

33 sats \ 2 replies \ @WeAreAllSatoshi 31 Jul

I thought you didn’t go to school

61 sats \ 1 reply \ @billytheked 1 Aug

its just a nym.

22 sats \ 0 replies \ @WeAreAllSatoshi 1 Aug

I know lol just playing around

109 sats \ 1 reply \ @k00b 31 Jul

What are the practical steps behind the process of getting obsessed with something?

I usually try to find the perfect book. I will buy ~3 books that look the most promising on a topic, and one will usually end up being it. I like books for this because they require obsession to write well and I'll inherit some of that obsession.

If you're studying something that's "cutting edge," often the best you can do in terms of books is to find what inspired the cutting edge. And those influences are best found by getting obsessed with key people working on the cutting edge stuff and figuring out what influenced them. Often, it's not the prior cutting edge thing that influenced them. Instead, it is usually something far more abstract or seemingly unrelated - which tends be more informative anyway. My goal would be to shadow their experience/learning so that I could interpret the present moment as they would.

If you're better with people than I am, you can probably do better than books. I'd find someone that understands the cutting edge and get them to help me understand it too. I'd also move physically closer to, or visit frequently, the places where people working on the cutting edge are densest. An osmosis tends to happen.

50 sats \ 0 replies \ @birdeye21 OP 1 Aug

Very nice...reading this reminds me of how i would explore music back in the day...identify the influences of the artists I like, then listen to them, find those influences' influences, etc. etc..

This way you learn where the foundation came from, making the "cutting edge" more understandable

66 sats \ 2 replies \ @Car 31 Jul

Here we go...

Have you ever taken on a new job and realize how much new information you have to educate yourself on to get up to speed?

Yea usually they had documentation software and a couple gray beards onsite haha those were the days! Back then I would be assigned to a team and they would be watching my every move to make sure I wasn't nuking networks lol.

What are the important BIPs being discussed?

Usually a local Bitdevs is a good place for this or but if your too far Bitcoin Optech is the goat.

What trends are crucial to be on top of?

These days...AI, Bitcoin, Robotics, Tech, Darknet, Art & Culture, Film, Music, Macro Finance, World News, Local News, Church and Health.

Who are the "right voices" to be listening to?

God.

Where do I go to find this information?

Church.

How can i ensure reliability with the answers I'm getting??

Reading the Bible and Prayer everyday. Once that is ongoing start going on retreats and living out your Christian life. Also look into workbooks that help with making you a better Christian every year to understand life's core concepts.

This example can apply to any topic, but I guess what I'm ultimately wondering is: What are the practical steps behind the process of getting obsessed with something?

I see it simply like this. "Be fruitful" "Multiply" "Replenish the earth" "Subdue it" and "Have dominion" Trust me that'll bring obsession in that order.

In reality, true obsession is natural and unfolds wherever the mind gravitates, but in the case where a person need to insert "obsession" for any reason, how would you write the "playbook" for that person?

Without a sense of mission and intention, life feels hollow, and you may not even understand the reason.

21 sats \ 1 reply \ @birdeye21 OP 1 Aug

Never considered Genesis 1:28 in this context 🤯

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Car 1 Aug

Right in the beginning God tells you exactly what to do. It’s a formula for life. So many more treasures than that when you get close to God.

44 sats \ 1 reply \ @LAXITIVA 1 Aug

Awe thanks for posting this I always find it difficult at times to find reliable information with this heavy capitalistic marketing world of affiliated brands being sneaked into things to look like it’s good. Then you find out it was paid hype.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @birdeye21 OP 1 Aug

Discernment has never been a more important skill than today

55 sats \ 0 replies \ @claos545 2 Aug

Love this question. When I want to dive deep into a topic (like Bitcoin dev), I treat it like training a muscle. Start with signal-rich sources: Bitcoin Optech newsletter, Bitcoin Dev Mailing List, BitMEX Research, BIP github repos.Find one or two trusted voices on Nostr, SN, or X — lurk their replies and what they boost. Build a Zettelkasten-style note system — connect ideas as you go. Ask questions publicly, even if they feel dumb. SN is great for this. And yeah, obsession kicks in when you hit that first “aha” moment. Then it snowballs. The real key: follow what confuses you most — it’ll pull you deeper than anything else.

22 sats \ 0 replies \ @2053456d48 1 Aug

Stacker news

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @d680ecaa8e 31 Jul

Nothing is special.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Akg10s3 31 Jul

Now in my present, where I'm learning about Bitcoin!! I feel like many of my thoughts are at the forefront of the world!! But not that Fiat world, that world where the masses are manipulated and led to the slaughter!!

I'm talking about the world where the truth is free and financial freedom also exists!!

Infinite thanks to the "Magic Internet Money"...