
Ask HN: When Topics Affect Me but I Am Not Aware and Not Interested - 11thEarlOfMar
I&#x27;m contemplating a Venn Diagram with three circles:<p>1. News topics and information I am <i>Interested In</i>;<p>2. News topics and information I am <i>Aware Of</i>;<p>3. News topics and information that <i>Affect My Life</i>.<p>There is a section of topics in the diagram that <i>Affect My Life</i> and which I am <i>Aware Of</i>. As I delve into those topics online, Google et al learn what those topics are and feed me more related items and life is good. I become informed about new items in topics that I am <i>Interested In</i> and <i>Aware Of</i>.<p>But I am developing an anxiety about topics in the section of the diagram which <i>Affect My Life</i> and which I am not <i>Aware Of</i> and not <i>Interested In</i>.  I know of no path via my behavior or online services that will introduce to me information that <i>Affect My Life</i>, I am not <i>Aware Of</i>, and not yet <i>Interested In</i>. Except by chance. Regrettably, I don&#x27;t have the spare time to spend deliberately seeking out topics in that section of the diagram via random searching.<p>I initially tried to develop examples of such topics, then realized that I couldn&#x27;t conceive of examples because I don&#x27;t know what I don&#x27;t know.... Yet I am convinced they are out there and that it is valuable to have a deterministic way to discover them. The anxiety is that if I don&#x27;t discover them, the consequence will surprise me in a bad way, or, I will be somehow suffering or disadvantaged without ever knowing it. To a lesser extent, that I&#x27;m missing news items or information from topics that would enhance my life.<p>So my question for Hacker News is: Is this a real problem or am I deluded?<p>If it&#x27;s real, is it already solved? If not solved can it be solved with technology? Or via a curated service?<p>If I am deluded, or there is an available solution, then thanks for letting me know and I can get back to work.
======
PopeOfNope
You're deluded. It's ok, we all are. Our brains are hard wired to seek out
data just like our brains are hard wired to seek out sugar. Both were rare in
the olden days and could extend your life. These days, we have too much of
both.

That said, if you were to see something that matched your venn diagram of
_Affects your life_ , not _Aware Of_ and not yet _Interested In_ , would you
even know it? Most people wouldn't, because new information in that category
often threatens their world view.

I seek out information in a similar venn, but mine looks more like _Affects
Your Life_ , not _Aware Of_ , but very _Interested In_. I'm not interested
specifically in any particular topic, but I'm very interested in anything that
challenges my current perception of the world, no matter where it comes from.
As a result, I read a lot of blogs and twitter feeds written by people most
would consider mentally deranged. Except they're not mentally deranged;
they're often more rigorously logical than their detractors.

As for how to automate the task of finding this information, I have high hopes
for machine learning and neural networking, but my own exploration of that
area is in its infancy.

