Trendsletter #19 - Randomizing your research ✍ 🍠 🍛 🎣 🚗
Hello,
I was reading Usbek & Rica a French magazine and found an article that sat with me for a longer time than expected: how to randomize your life? It is the story of Max Hawkins who lets algorithms choose for him almost every decision: what to eat, what to listen to, what to wear, where to live.... Random idea? He made this switch realizing his life was highly predictable with same decisions over and over.
His concept relies around parameters and algorithms. Tho this newsletter is an invitation to actually break the algorithm in order to properly research the best subject on the planet: People and how people change!
☝️ Important thing in seeking trends is this idea of randomizing and diversifying the findings, ideas, information and thoughts collected throughout the process. I feel like I brushed the surface in this past edition or this one of the trendsletter.
Randomizing your research
Why? Especially in the era of algorithm bubble, the importance of scanning and tracking change external to your usual habits doubles its importance. This refrains reduces you from falling into the trap of circling in the same ideas over and over and confirming ideas that would be true but for only YOU!
How to randomize your research and navigate towards a wider view of the future (some tips I collected):
- Alternate the types of resources with online and offline content.
- Diversify the type of sources: collecting while reading the newspaper or an academic journal, having a conversation with friends, an expert, a family member, listening, people watching, etc... etc..
- Make the conscious random choice that might mean putting yourself in an odd position to join a random event you wouldn't go to normally or something else. You can even leave your magazine choice to the universe and subscribe to services like Stack or Do you read me sending you random magazines you wouldn't naturally pick.
For online research:
- Change browser sometimes (often) some 🍪 are drop into your online browsing. You can opt for Mozilla Firefox for example (which is not preferred but better than others) will keep you a good hygiene of diversifying online tools.
- Using an alternative search engine like DuckDuckGo who won't track the subject you are interested in or Search Marginalia that focus on non-commercial content
- Take a friend’s account into account when I tell my students that, they always laugh 😂 l am not joking you would be surprised how different results are from one phone (or social media account) to the next.
| Tell me your random tip |
Just celebrated the end of my third year in business, great achievements and a post it in the back. Review the post and accomplishments I am most proud of!
Let me leave you with a set of random emojies by perchance
✍ 🍠 🍛 🎣 🚗
P.S. The good weather is coming our way (in Montréal). I hope it is the same in your city. This might lead to elastic occurence of this trendsletter. ☀️
Marie-Michele Larivée
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