Turn off the firehose

The firehose is the endless influx of content selected by algorithms. If you want to maintain control over who you are and what you believe, you must turn off the firehose.

Forget the daily gavage of 10,000 different voices and limit yourself to as many thinkers as you can remember by name. Follow writers instead of topics. Read a book more than once. Don’t skim headlines or spend your time in “infinity feeds. Read fewer, better things.

When you detach yourself from the firehose, your mind can breathe.

You welcome boredom to the table, the amuse bouche before curiosity kicks in. You also make space for understanding, which can only happen when your brain isn’t actively chewing.

Attempting to drink from a firehose will only leave you waterlogged. This is the great irony of the information age.