Reclaim your mind

Everyone is tired of hearing how we live in an era of unprecedented access to information, most of which is curated by algorithms designed for engagement, not growth. I’m sick of it, and yet I still attempt to find those ways of circumnavigating the algorithm. I truly despise the control it has on my life and the information I see online. But I realised that there is a way to control it, and it’s been right under my nose the whole time…

Learning.

I have advocated for life long learning ever since I started my move away from corporate into academia. Its effect on my life cannot be overstated. However, true lifelong learning is no longer just about acquiring skills; it is an act of resistance. By engaging in learning, we are able to distinguish the slop from the information, reject algorithmic feeds and AI-generated summaries for our own deep curiosity. Not only does this learning and curiosity expand our cultural horizons, it opens our minds to differing points of view and thus safeguards our humanity.

I will talk more about this specifically in my keynote: ‘Radical Possibilities’ at the Annual Accepted Symposium, which is our hybrid community event where we are challenging the narrative of academia (tickets for in-person available, online is free)! However, in this article I want to talk about moving away from passive consumption (being fed content) to active cultivation (seeking knowledge).

There are many a great benefit to algorithms and AI. Believe me I would not want to decipher big data sets, nor would I like exposure to my husband’s YouTube feed (just because I am not into cars or sport, no other reason 😜). The way algorithms work is that they create echo chambers and feedback loops that narrow our vision. We are fed more and more of the same thing over and over again. It is like eating the same meal every meal, every day (would be ok if it was very good, I suppose, but personally I like some variety). By thriving on optimisation, AI-generated summaries remove the struggle of reading and thus the cognitive benefits of critical thinking. Furthermore, with being fed content, it is unlikely we will discover anything new or life-changing. This is totally different to the seeking out of knowledge, like browsing a shelf of a library or stumbling into an obscure cultural rabbit hole!

Following that thought, learning is not supposed to be seamless. There should exist in the learning process some sense of friction; a cognitive wrestling that accompanies a difficult text or concept. Just like our bodies, our brains develop when they are challenged. You cannot run a marathon without some painful trainings, just as your brain needs some mental training to build up it’s resilience and patience. By embracing ambiquity, contradiction and emotional resonance within our learnings, not only are we becoming key critical thinkers, but we are embracing our humanism. Our thoughts and viewpoints are a culmination of what we learn. Just like the ‘garden’ metaphor that I use in The Garden of My Mind, our own unique personal mental library shapes our unique worldview and intuition.

Where algorithms serve disconnected and fragmented bits of information, deep self-learning seeks context and connections. Engaging deeply with a subject, therefore, forces us to step outside of ourselves to really understand something new; the raw and unfiltered human expression of knowledge.

So, thanks for listening to my TedTalk 😂. Here are a couple of things I am doing as an avid lifelong learner:

Curating my own input: take a stroll through your local library shelves, rely on bibliographies, physical independent stores, and trusted human recommendations.

Slow down: dedicate some uninterrupted time to physical books, journaling, sketching, listening, even just being silent and observant. It is amazing how slowing down moves knowledge from short-term memory to long-term understanding.

Follow the Rabbit (Hole): Intentionally follow curiosity down its historical path, rather than jumping from trend to trend.

The biggest takeaway I have is that learning, and especially lifelong learning isn’t a race. The longer you take, the better and it is never too late to start. It is a deliberate process of becoming more fully human, and becoming more fully you by reclaiming the ownership of your own mind.

What will you do with it? Close the tabs? Log out of the feeds? Pick up a book?