Why Do We Crave Useless Knowledge?
the internet’s sprawling databases, real-time social-media networks, and globe-spanning e-commerce platforms have made almost everything immediately searchable, knowable, or purchasable—curbing the social value of sharing new things. Cultural arbitrage now happens so frequently and rapidly as to be nearly undetectable, usually with no extraordinary... See more
W. David Marx • The Diminishing Returns of Having Good Taste
Curiosity is such a basic component of our natures that we are nearly oblivious to its
pervasiveness in our lives. Consider, though, how much of our time we spend seeking and
consuming information, whether listening to the news or music, browsing the internet,
reading books or magazines, watching TV, movies, and sports, or otherwise engaging in
activit
... See moreBelieving that everything will be better if only we gather more information commits us to endless searching and casting about, to one more swipe of the screen in the hope that the elusive bit of data, which will make everything clear, will suddenly present itself. From one angle, this is just another symptom of reducing our experience of the world... See more