Lumilib Team · June 1, 2024
We tend to leave the question of "what to read" to platform recommendations, popular reading lists, or other people's suggestions. But have you ever considered that this approach isn't much different from passively scrolling through your timeline?
We think we're making choices, when in fact we're merely "being chosen for."
If you truly want to read for empowerment, judgment, and to find your own direction, you need to take control of your "content algorithm" and start building your personal input system.
In this article, we won't give you a generic recommended reading list. Instead, we'll help you deconstruct a complete input engine: how to actively set content boundaries, evaluate information value, filter noise, and continuously optimize your absorption methods.
Starting today, you're no longer just a "user" – you're your own "content product manager."
We often tell ourselves to "read more," but when you actually want to start reading seriously, an essential question emerges: what exactly should I read?
You might expect me to offer a reading list or share some reading techniques. But I may have to disappoint you.
Whether it's recommendations from "reference answers," suggestions from friends, or "must-read lists of the year," if you merely follow these suggestions without question, how is this different from algorithmic recommendations on short-video platforms? You're still giving away the power to decide "what's next" to others.
If you want to truly take control, you need to take over the algorithm of "what's next" and reset your content input system. You can no longer just wait to be recommended; you need to start customizing your own menu.
So, we're not here to tell you "what content is worth reading," but to help you establish your own content judgment engine. This isn't a menu; it's the source code for your recommendation system.
We've integrated numerous reading-related content and distilled it into the "Four Threes" principle: three questions, three principles, three "unnecessary" practices, and three "judgments."
These "Four Threes" can help you set input boundaries, adjust content weights, eliminate external interference, and establish a continuously optimizing feedback mechanism. From now on, you're not just a user – you're your own product manager.
First, three questions:
What stage of life are you in? How is your attention span? Is your information processing style deep exploration or quick skimming? Are you someone who engages in long-term dialogues with structured content, or are you better at extracting methods from experience? These questions determine what types of information are most suitable for your current intake.
Do you want to be a more discerning conversationalist, a more creative communicator, or a more self-stable system builder? Your goals define your input logic—don't read just because something interests you, but consider whether it can guide you toward your ideal direction.
Is it a certain thinking model? Reasoning ability in a blind spot? A gap in expression? Or a bridge between experience and theory? The gap is the boundary of your content pool—if you don't know what you're missing, your content choices will depend on the "popularity weight" of recommendation algorithms.
The three questions effectively determine the boundaries of our information intake. Next, we need to calculate the weight of content input. Not every piece of information deserves to enter your system. Therefore, we've prepared three rules for you:
First-hand content is the raw ore of thought, unprocessed by information filters—your direct contact with a complex world. Retold content often carries bias and subjective judgment, potentially limiting your cognitive expansion. Choose original and unprocessed content; they can bring you new perspectives and inspiration.
Classical content is wisdom sedimented by time—knowledge that remains effective after long-term verification. Trending content often relies on short-term emotional fluctuations and market demands, making it easy to lose direction in rapidly changing environments. Classical content typically provides structural thinking and profound insights, helping you establish a more enduring knowledge framework.
Breakthrough knowledge challenges your basic understanding of how the world works or provides an entirely new observational perspective. It fundamentally changes your thinking patterns and creates profound impacts. Enhancing knowledge deepens or extends what is known but typically doesn't bring fundamental cognitive leaps. Therefore, we should prioritize breakthrough knowledge that breaks existing thinking frameworks and drives cognitive transformation.
Of course, you also need to teach your system to identify "false positive" content. The three "unnecessaries" are precisely this noise-canceling mechanism:
Abandon compulsions; you don't need to complete all books. Effective learning doesn't depend on the quantity of books but on flexible choices based on your current needs, continuously adjusting your input system. You can "exit" books that don't meet your needs to avoid wasting time and energy.
A book's table of contents is the author's designed structure, and the order of recommended book lists is arranged by others according to certain standards. You don't have to follow these preset frameworks, especially in non-fiction books.
If a chapter or topic directly helps your current thinking or needs, you can skip other parts and go straight to the content you need. Reading is a process that serves you; order shouldn't be a limitation.
News updates rapidly every day, and most news is just momentary, shallow content. In today's era, truly important news will reach your ears in one way or another. What you really need to focus on are the slow, imperceptible major trends and underlying logic behind these news items.
Remember, your attention isn't a timeline; it's a soil. If you plant everything, you'll only grow weeds. Beyond this, your system needs validation functions. I typically set up three judgments:
After each information input, ask yourself: Can it provide an effective path for your current problems? If it can solve your immediate difficulties or offer a new thinking framework, then it's worth entering your information pool.
Is recent content helping you understand more, see deeper, or think more thoroughly than before? Breakthrough knowledge should help you structure knowledge and enhance your ability to extract key points from complex problems.
This judgment aims to detect the practicality of absorbed content. Valuable content not only changes your cognition but also inspires you to take practical action. After encountering certain content, did it generate new ideas or actions for you? If so, it can truly drive you toward your goals.
If the answer to all three questions is no, then it might only reinforce what you already believe. It might be sweet, but it's not nutritious.
In summary, "what to consume" isn't about asking "what's on the reading list"; it's about asking: "Have you taken control of your input system?"
The questions you set are your input boundaries; the standards you choose are your sorting weights; the misconceptions you identify are your error prevention mechanisms; and the feedback criteria you establish are your version update strategy.
If you don't take responsibility for yourself, any recommendation algorithm will make choices for you. But if you start taking responsibility for your input, then every reading, even just half a page, becomes a possibility you're constructing.