Allowing ourselves to dive headfirst into a wide range of ideas

What’s off limits to you conceptually?

Do you have heaviness boundaries where there are certain topics you simply won’t explore?

Here’s why I think that’s a mistake.

Few things in this life are more important than our intellectual freedom, or the willingness to entertain even the most controversial, dangerous and intense thoughts. This is the only way we come to understand our world. By allowing ourselves to dive headfirst into a wide range of ideas. Even if society deems them unacceptable or off limits. Even if we feel shame or disgust for simply going there.

Sure, there’s a vulnerability to this practice. We run the risk of being judged. Somebody might notice a certain book in our bag, a certain browser tab open, or a particular podcast downloading, and think to themselves, what in god’s name are you doing reading that garbage?

But that’s the thing. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. We have to trust that the intellectual exploration itself, uncomfortable as it may be for us and those close to us, is a net positive.

That’s the price we pay for curiosity. It’s interesting, because in the past fifteen years, digital readers and smartphones significantly changed the dynamics of intellectual freedom. Because now we are allowed to read any book we want, without displaying the cover to the public.

This new form of discretion helps people avoid judgment based on their reading choices. There’s a layer of anonymity over their exploration that encourages them to investigate genres and topics they might otherwise avoid.

I remember the days when I commuted on the subway to work, back when offices were still a thing. I cherished the fact that nobody around me knew I was reading books on addiction recovery, mental illness or sexual health. Not a single passenger could see which podcasts I was listening to.

And that was a good thing. I didn’t have to do what readers did back in the day, like create a faux book cover, or remove the dust jacket to disguise the title of something taboo. Digitization offered a certain level of privacy that you couldn’t get any other way.

Now, the irony is not lost on me that the phone company is still monitoring my every keystroke. Tech companies whose apps I am addicted to can probably predict my next move down to the click. I’m sure the government knows more about me than I do.

In fact, if a federal agent busted into my home right now and told me that their algorithms could predict how and when I will die with a ninety six percent accuracy, I would believe them.

But enough paranoia fantasies about our surveillance state. The bigger issue is that of boundaries. Or lack thereof. It seems like everyone has something they won’t talk about with certain people at a particular time or place.

No talking politics at the dinner table. No mention of religion at work. No sex conversations in front of your parents. No money talk in polite company. No personal stories during the job interview. And so on.

What’s your version of that? Is there a topic you generally avoid in certain contexts?

If so, I encourage you to loosen those boundaries. For one day. Just to see how it feels.

You might be surprised how empowering it is.