Where do I go to feed my ignorance? The answers are limitless really and, simplistically, I go where life takes me. However, there are some sources that have proven to be of more interest than others to me and that is the point of this post. I have been lax in adding sources to this page – resurrecting it like this may help me be more pro-active.
I have put a link to this post back into the menu as I suspect that this set of links should be made easily available from this site. Of course there are ‘sources’ that I go to other than those that I find online, however those can be dealt with separately. For the purposes of this post I am solely linking to other websites and other resources.
Edge – a site that has the tagline “To arrive at the edge of the world’s knowledge, seek out the most complex and sophisticated minds, put them in a room together, and have them ask each other the questions they are asking themselves.” – launched twenty years ago it has so much material that you could possibly spend all your time here. Instead, I tend to browse occasionally, trying to pick up morsels that enlighten – and, like many other sites, I have regular emails to tell me of some “highlights”.
TED – couldn’t ignore this – OK, so the talks are “stylised” to a certain extent, the “TED format” is pushed, the presenters chosen, but it still throws up many really interesting talks – I have had many introductions through this site. The format is such that it is impossible to present anything other than “summary” material – but that is exactly what you want when delving into something new – as such it is ideal for “feeding your ignorance”.
Farnam Street – I’ve only recently found this source – but given that the ‘headline’ is “My goal is to help you go to bed each night smarter than when you woke up. I’ll do this by giving you tools, ideas, and frameworks for thinking.” this has to be a good one!! There is no pretence of ‘originality’ in that the content is a regurgitation of other people’s work – and I don’t mean that in any derogatory fashion – on the contrary it is (like TED, but in a different way) a source of almost bitesize chunks that lead to bigger portions.
Adriaan de Lange – perhaps a strange choice, however At de Lange is a thinker who perhaps deserves to be much better known.
The International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS) – although perhaps a better starting point is their wiki .
If you haven’t found kumu yet this is your chance – The Perspectives Project is the latest step taken by Gene Bellinger in seemingly endless quest for a “satisficing” way to share knowledge on all things systemic.
A ScoopIt list on Systems Thinking.
Closer To Truth – An assortment of ideas on all sorts of aspects of how we view the world. It has been around for a long time and, primarily, produces short TV episodes exploring a particular topic.
Perspectiva – Another eclectic mix, but with some gems depending on your own interests and ideas. You will notice that this is an example of writing that has migrated to substack – there are a few substacks in these recommendations.
In addition to sources like the above communities there are also a number of individuals who – in one way or another – have influenced my thinking. However, it is worth stating here that when it comes to individuals it is almost always the case that there are things that they say/write/do that I agree with and which resonate with my own worldview whilst there are other things that are either totally contradictory to my own thoughts or which I have quite strong reservations about. So, if you do follow these links, don’t assume that everything you read is in any way endorsed by me. (I should add that the same is also true for the communities – perhaps even more so)
These are not listed in order of importance – indeed the order is entirely arbitrary.
Mel Schwartz – Uncommon Sense from Mel Schwartz is an example of a source that started out from something completely different. He was the author of a book I got many years ago offering advice on “a good marriage” – it is interesting how his advice now regarding relationships in general is very coloured by the idea that connections are important.
Yuval Noah Harari – A thinker who certainly talks a lot of sense.
Charles Eisenstein – Another thinker – one who has many insights that I concur with, but also seemingly has ideas that I am very much unsure about.
The Stoa – Peter Limberg has, in recent years, had a number of different platforms as his own worldview evolves. There is also a YouTube channel hosting in depth discussions and some of his other sites are probably still available. Perhaps more polarising than some – but good thinking material.
Rupert Sheldrake – He is a controversial figure in the scientific world and has many critics. However, I find that a lot of his thoughts and ideas are compelling.
Brain Pickings – The website is now titled The Marginalian, but I have stuck to the former name here. This is something very different to my other sources here, but I often find very wise words in the regular emails I receive.