Glenn Stovall

information diet

We live in a world of infinite content. Finding is easy and filtering is difficult. Taste, curation, and discernment are more important than ever.

A wealth of information provides a poverty of attention — Herbert Simon

output is a function of input

In a world of abundant, easily accessible information, curation becomes more important. Part of how you express yourself is curating what you consume. As taste is the new intelligence argues, what you consume, what you engage with, what you amplify—becomes a reflection of how you think. Less junk, more nutrients.

have an outcome-focused approach to content

If you want to be entertained, watch entertaining content. If you want to learn, watch educational content. Be wary of the infotainment trap in between: content feels educational but is fluffy and surface level.

remove as many ads as possible

Choose streaming services. Unsubscribe from promotional emails. Set up adblockers or a Pi-hole. You want to be more intentional choosing what you pay attention to, which requires less input from others telling you what you think you should care about.

keep your follows small and high quality

You should avoid social media, but when using it, keep the amount of accounts you follow small and high quality. Don't let noise fill up your feed.

prefer Lindy content

How much of what you consume is less than one year old? Technology pushes us towards a recency bias, encouraging us to focus on what's new.

Prefer content with a long shelf life to make. Books and essays over tweets and vertical videos. Old perspectives are rare and novel these days.

prefer uncommon content

Find cult-classic books and blogs. More obscure sources lead to more original thinking. Both Hideo Kojima and the designers of Expedition 33 pull heavily from obscure 70s and 80s science fiction.

There is nothing wrong with consuming mainstream content. It's popular for a reason. But you'll be less inspired if it's all you ever see.

recommendations over algorithms

Ask friends for recommendations, or read books your favorite authors reference. Don't let a few algorithms decide what you're going to consume.

beware the content promoter

Cautionary tale from Andrew Wilkinson, content promoter who runs investment fund Tiny: by reading the 10-Ks from his company, people discovered the numbers didn't make sense. Wilkinson was a fraud. Worth noting he seemed to be in a circle of business content promoters (yesterday's podcast guest is tomorrow's host). Be wary of this kind of promoter and content creator.

find intellectual tour guides

Find people who share interesting ideas you like following. Go deep on their hyperlinks and book recommendations. Let them help show you a new perspective on the world. Become an intellectual tour guide yourself.

take time to process

Sometimes you should take space when you're listening to a podcast or reading, and instead go for a walk and think. Take time to reflect and integrate what you've learned, instead of jumping from one thing to the next.

high-quality content sources

Longform essays:

  • Aeon - longform essays
  • Psyche - internal exploration
  • Commoncog - quality business writing and case studies
  • Asterisk - science and technology articles

A list of lists: