A fact I try to keep front-of-mind is that your outputs are a function of your inputs. An implication is that if you consume the same info as everyone else, you will think the same thoughts as everyone else. You will have the same "insights" and be vulnerable to the same exploits. In the same way that trusted third parties are security holes, an information monoculture is a security hole. Worse, it's a hole you may not even know you're in, because the people around you are in it too.
And aren't you all free?
To get around this issue, I try take in as much non-correlated information as I can, about as diverse a set of topics as I can manage without being overwhelmed. (Dealing with overwhelm more intelligently is a goal of mine for 2024.) One powerful way to do this is reading a wide variety of fiction. Another is travel, esp to unusual places and for unusual reasons. Another is having an eclectic friend group.
Despite feeling strongly about this, I don't think I'm very good at it, which is bad. What's good is that this means that there's much opportunity to improve! So I'd like to solicit suggestions for other things to do, other input sources to broaden my perspective. Anything goes, but a rule of thumb is that if it's already in the bitcoin cannon, either directly or thematically, then it's no use to me.
Give me the groundbreaking podcast on prairie restoration, or the show you fucking love about making soup dumplings, or the documentary about beauty pageants that changed how you see gender roles, or the course about philosophy and meaning that keeps you up at night.
Something to make the world new, at least a little.