Introducing this, introducing that. New stuff, more new stuff, so much stuff. So many interests. So much passion. So much good stuff. So much bad stuff. So much unnecessary and necessary stuff. So many people, all saying different things. AI. AI. AI. New research. New technology. New cool insights. So much stuff.
That's kind of what goes through my minds when scrolling social media. Sometimes I just end up in this bad loops of social media. Even though "scrolling social media" might be something seemingly productive: Looking at new research, reading the news, reading posts from mathematicians I admire. It can still be overwhelming somedays because there's just so, so much stuff we can see and so much stuff we can know about. It's information overload.
Worse is that your brain gets stuck in the classical survival loop where you feel like you need to keep scrolling to keep track of this rapidly changing environment. You end up looking for that one post that will make you feel satisfied and that the feeling of overwhelm was, in some sense, worth it.
But it keeps on going. So it doesn't matter if you're scrolling brainrot, research, or mathematical reflections from people, it all gets turned into a this sort of behavioral loop.
With this, I admire anyone to be slow. Move slowly. Think far ahead and be comfortable with slowness. To me, slowness is the only thing that compounds. It's a superpower to be able to move slowly. We should not confuse slowness with laziness or "not being productive enough". Find pleasure in slowness, and when you do, do not let it disappear!