There are certain types of people who are quite rare, but are extremely valuable. These are the ones who throughout their lives, try to seek information about absolutely everything they encounter. If they face something new in their lives, they seek out as much information as they can about it.
It is worth mentioning, that these are the people who are very well suited to running a business.
Modern society is all about specialization. Our entire education system is built on the fact that we need people who are extremely good at just one thing, and then they do that for their entire lives. This is good for many reasons. It makes people invested in what they are doing, as they cannot easily change. It is a barrier to change in lives.
It also suites the development of the world well, our entire society is based around this, and it is pretty obvious that specialization creates much more wealth overall, than if everyone did a bit of everything. It is all about focus.
We must not ignore the fact though that an alternative type of person is also needed. One that can look at the global picture. A truly global picture. They have so much information about various topics in their heads, that they can assess a situation and hopefully make the right choice. It is more of a decision making role, rather than a production role in society.
If you look at an information seeking person, they are like a sponge. They look to seek information constantly, their past time is getting more and more information, their entire lives are about seeking out new information about everything. It makes them happy.
The interesting thing is, if you ask any specialized person why they do not fill their time with information seeking, they usually come up with an excuse about not having enough time, being too tired etc etc. This is simply not true. We always have time for what we want to make time for. Most people work 8 hours, sleep 7 hours, that leaves around 9 hours to do anything. Look at people on the underground or the commute into work. They do nothing. What do people do at home? Relax by watching TV shows that offer no personal development whatsoever.
What do I do? Every day I listen to podcasts from HowStuffWorks for at least 45-60 minutes. On TV I mostly watch documentaries. I spend most of my internet browsing time reading news, or about topics I am interested in. Or reading books about any topic. The result? I am completely unsatisfied with how much I know.
I think one of the single biggest wastes of time is watching sports. It is extremely tempting, it creates big emotions, it makes you feel like you are part of something. But it is exactly the same as reading about celebrities.
Is this genetic? My father is exactly the same. However his case is interesting, he is a surgeon which is a highly specialized skill, yet he still knows about absolutely every other topic. Is it social upbringing? Probably also true, I went to a good school. But I was already like this. One of my best friends is just incredibly like this, he can talk about absolutely any topic.
I believe this is simply a state of mind. And anyone who wants to rise above the rest, can simply become an information seeking person. It is an easy way, and it will bring massive rewards. Socially, financial, and in greater happiness.
