Written by Zach Grossfeld

It’s fun to be dumb, in certain areas. Blind spots in knowledge drive us to learn, understand, and interact with the world on a deeper level. They can also serve as a mounting excuse for ignorance:

There’s so much to learn, so much I don’t know, what’s the point of getting smarter if the blind spots will always be there?

The best things in life don’t come with end goals: love, work, self-improvement. Same thing with knowledge. The joy is in the journey. Focusing on the reward diminishes the fulfillment from focusing on the process.

Knowledge falls into three categories:

Expertise

General Understanding

Blind Spots

The goal is to develop a general understanding in many areas while building expertise in a few.

First, you identify the blind spots. Letting your curiosity lead will make this a fun process. Don’t pursue what you think others would want you to know. What are you interested in? What gets you going? Do you want to read about the porn industry? Space travel? Vincent Van Gogh? Fucking Fantastic. Go grab a book.

Second, once you build general knowledge of a subject, then you get to choose: Do I leave it here? Or do I explore further? In this part of the process, be selective. You should have 1-2 areas that you dedicate your life to learning. These areas become a part of you. Most other things can stay at a general understanding. Think about your job, your passions, what would area would make sense to submerge yourself in?

Third, once you develop a general understanding in one area, pick a new blind spot. This is the fun part. It never ends. Earmark books until the pages fan out. Underline important sentences. Scribble in the margins like a madman. Listen the shit out of some podcasts.

Don’t be someone who brags, “I read 300 books this year!”

No you fucking didn’t, and it’s not about the pile of books growing on your read list.

It's about learning because you can and because it's fun.

You were lucky enough to end up on this beautiful planet.

You might as well dive in.

Embrace the blind spots.

Cheers,

Zach

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