HN Explorer

Ask HN: How to research a new topic to write about

6 points by bosch_mind ↗ HN
I want to work on research around social policy issues and disseminate them to the masses. I feel like I’m fairly good at teaching as well as data visualization.

How do you take notes and learn new things to construct a new article, etc?

4 comments

[ 2.8 ms ] story [ 24.4 ms ] thread
nicbou
You want to teach people about something that you know nothing about?
bosch_mind
Gotta start somewhere?
nicbou
Step one would be to have sufficient expertise and authority in your field to be trusted to teach it. You're putting the cart well before the oxen here.
kurtdev
Deconstruct what you already know into smaller parts until you reach "atomic" knowledge (i.e. things that cannot be reduced into other factors). At every step ask yourself "Why is this the case?". Do this enough and you will probably find interesting connections in mundane knowledge as well as the borders of current knowledge

Also if you aren't an expert in your field, what you will want to write has probably been written before. Don't fall prone to your ego or the thought that you have something to share that others couldn't teach as well. Use this to focus on things you find interesting or important and make it easier for others to be interested as well