Noise & Filters

It’s insane just the sheer amount of content we consume on daily basis. It seems silly for me to even list them; Twitter, Youtube, Medium, Blogs, newsletters, etc.

In the days of the older generation, it was a matter of finding the right information via books in libraries. Our world now provides instantaneous access to any content. It seems logical to assume that in this abyss of never-ending content there is a lot of useless content (or even toxic content) that I broadly label as Noise.

Noise: Shitty (and/or toxic) pointless information.

Toxic information is just shitty advice.

You can observe the insane amount of Noise by browsing your social media feed and noticing how everybody is claiming to be a guru at this and constantly attempt to catch your attention with a headline and then a thread (especially Twitter) about “5 ways to achieve bla bla bla”. Notice that everybody does this, and they do it because it's proven to work. You continue to read their so-called expert advice on whatever topic.

But not everybody is an expert, right? Of course not! And the byproduct of social media and the internet is that anybody can write something and anybody can consume it.

About 95% of these posts on any platform are bullshit and it’s important to not blindly follow the advice of others. You can find opposing views and opinions on how things should be done on the internet about ANY topic, and they will both be equally justified.

Among this Noise there is positive and useful information but it’s hard to tell one from the other. I suggest to navigate the content you’re currently consuming and ask yourself “Have I learned anything from this lately? Is this novel and/or useful information? Or is just pure entertainment?"

The best way to deal with all the Noise is to consume content with skepticism. Put a filter on it and only grab the useful facts and information and attempt to filter away all the bullshit. Even some of the smartest (and/or successful) people can make mistakes and their thoughts shouldn't be treated as holy. Filter all information you receive and only pick and pull what you think is useful.