Hey everybody,

One thing I've been thinking about is "selective ignorance," the ability to filter signal from noise and laser focus on few, meaningful insights. I thought of this "profound" phrase during one of my hikes (see video below), as I appreciated a beautiful view of the Bay.

As I was away from all notifications and alerts, I realized that practicing "ignorance is bliss" by avoiding news or updates would be rather unwise (especially in these times). However, there is also a subtle pleasure in being ignorant of the world, as I was, at that moment.

Selective ignorance is similar to selective attention. (I highly suggest watching this one-minute video to understand.) It is an invaluable resource, even more valuable than attention itself. Attention, as a quantity, depletes as you pay attention to all details. Selective ignorance, as a quantity, increases as you pay attention to only the relevant details.

Let's say you read a book. It would be rather inefficient to pay equal attention to all parts of the book. If you're a utilitarian (as I usually am), you want to focus on those parts that yield maximum value and return on time invested. Hence, you want to practice selective ignorance.

As we continue to live in a world of abundance of information, interruptions, and minutiae, it's only ever more important to practice selective ignorance, the ability to focus only on what's relevant and important.

One might wrongly assume that selective ignorance is a lack of knowledge. No, it's a focus superpower, a skill, a habit, a lifestyle, all of which are akin to the idea of digital minimalism.

Ignorance is not bliss, but selective ignorance is.

Until next time,
Abhinav

The Channel

I got some cool footage during my hike in Thornewood Preserve, CA + I also wanted to put my gimbal to use lol. Have fun watching this casual, low-effort-but-fun vid. :)

Half A Thought

Ali interviewed 'the D2C guy,' Nik Sharma. Listen to the episode here. Featured as a Forbes 30 under 30 working with companies like Hint Water and people like Ptibull and Priyanka Chopra, Nik Sharma has made his position clear in the brand building world. Ali picks Nik's brain on things like how he sees creativity in his area to what it's like to find your passion early on. It's a 'sharming' episode!

Our Commonplace Book

While we're at it -- discussing tech, attention, and our place in it -- I highly recommend watching this interview of Tristan Harris and Yuval Noah Harari by the WIRED Editor-in-Chief Nicholas Thompson. Here's the transcript.