ankitshah

Didn't mean for this to turn into a back and forth or debate about FB, but I don't get the sense that you and I are working off of similar bases of information. I do think the matter is a little more nuanced than you're suggesting though.

FWIW, I don't believe that any feature explicitly designed to help people come together over differences would be one that would see much use, despite its positive intentions.

It's a well trodden hypothesis that Facebook optimizes for similarities, but I don't know if it's that straightforward.

Something that might be worth considering is what kinds of interactions are enabled by Facebook for any given person—who they are between, what the substance of the interactions are, etc. For example:

- I communicate with my friends, family, and extended network of people I've met over the course of my life (college, work, travel, projects, etc.) with my profile, News Feed, and Messenger

- I buy and sell random products on Marketplace

- I engage with communities of people over shared interests, identity, causes, initiatives, etc. on Groups, with Fundraisers

- I read news and updates from publishers I subscribe to on Pages

- (This list isn't exhaustive, but you see my point...)

In a way, it's a wide ranging social infrastructure—like a digital city. In some of those interactions, you meet people who are similar to you (and you _want_ that). In others, you meet people who you wouldn't ever imagine yourself communicating with, but you've found a context that you share some kind of edge that brings you together. By exposing yourself to people different from yourself on vectors that actually bring you together, you also expose yourself to their perspectives, worldviews, and lives.

Of course, I'm not naive into believing that every person's experience on Facebook mirrors this diverse, multi-faceted exposure to people both similar and different from oneself. For some people, the experience might just be a big reflection and validation of their worst instincts, but this isn't actually as frequent as people think. There _are_ ways to build product that enable people to find an experience that is expansive to their lives instead of constraining of it, and as much as it may not seem to be the case, I do think Facebook consistently moves in that direction as it continues to grow and evolve.

I'm sure you'll find many articles and essays on solitude, connection and self knowledge that are efficient enough for your taste.

I don't know that reading 6000 words on the subject suits everyone :)

Thanks for explaining! I entirely agree. We all have many versions of ourselves, and they are all still us! I'm of the mind, however, that who we are when we are alone serves as a starting block around which our many other facets form.

Means the world to read this Jack. Thanks so much for the kind comment. I'd love to know what parts of the essay resonate with you, what stuck, etc.

Please feel free to reach out to me on email ([email protected]) or twitter.com/ankitshah

Plenty more. I've written maybe 200-300 questions over the years (and asked thousands more).

I'm thinking to publish more of them in a neat and useful format soon for easy access and use. Should be ready in the next 2-4 weeks.

If you'd like to be notified when I do, my email list on the site might be the best bet (or just following me on twitter @ankitshah). Not sure I'll remember to come back to this thread to post.

You're right! So much of this essay can find a mirror in Vedic, Jain, Buddhist and Taoist philosophies (and numerous other schools of thoughts and philosophies). I don't think my ideas here are original.

My hope was that this essay would find resonance amongst those who might have difficulty connecting with these ideas in more religious, spiritual, or philosophical contexts. It was one of my goals while writing this to make it as accessible and plainspeak as possible.