Ask HN: Starting to get disillusioned and confused as a generalist
Not too long ago I asked HN "I'm interested in so many disciplines, but what can I do with that?" [1], and got an overwhelming response (to which I still haven't gone through completely..!). It really got my brain going and got me out of my slump, and I'm more eager than ever to pursue this line of interest. However, more recently, I'm starting to get disillusioned and confused about the social aspects of being a generalist.
It's a bit confusing to explain (because it is confusing me): Before that Ask HN, I've only been pursuing these interests privately. Since then, I've met several like-minded individuals through HN and it's all very very exciting. But now my idealistic brain is starting to wonder, where else can I find more generalist intellectuals? Is there some community out there where we all gather around and discuss over-arching themes and ideas?
Up to this point, the only places I know with smart nerdy people are all highly specialized. For example, academic spaces for "real/published academics", subreddit for specific interests in philosophy or psychology, etc. There's no place where people with general interests gather, other than maybe clustering around particular individuals (eg substack newsletter followers).
I know there are many "learning communities", but those are not really what I'm looking for. (Maybe I'm arrogant but those feel very... uncritical...). The best place so far, is the HN crowd.
But, then, with HN, there's no good way to have sustained conversations on particular topics. And for most of the cross- or interdisciplinary problems that I can think of, there's a real need for sustained discussions.
Am I dreaming up something that doesn't exist? Are small clusters the best we have?
Or maybe (I think this is the "answer"), there are only networks of these people and interests groups, rather than one single centralized community. And because every individual generalist and every individual general interest group are characterized by a unique assemblage of interests, only networks can connect these people together. Am I on the right track here?
Come to think of it, spaces like academia isn't one big community either, but networks of individual researchers and research groups, each independently publishing their own line of inquiry. Did I just answer my own question..?
Sorry for the stream of confusion. I would love to know what you all think.
[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30928105