L0in

When reading a book on a topic/field you are unfamiliar, how do you validate that what you are reading it's not BS? For example, i want to read a book about geopolitics that makes statements about a certain phenomenon. How do i know the arguments are not completely BS vs different position/views/opinion of the phenomenon?

I've always been a person with vast interests: math, history, security, woodworking, etc. I like learning but my study of any topic or field is disorganized and leads to nowhere.

I'm not a phd or write a MA thesis. I'm not academic publishing papers but i find the process of deeply studying something fascinating.

I'm trying to read discussion from a thread with 133 comments, on a topic i find interesting, but after a few comments i get overwhelmed. How do you do it?

What are the fundamentals (skills, knowledge) for someone in computer security, regardless of the specific subfield of expertise?

I'm in the beginning of my journey and I want to build solid foundations for understanding my future craft, being good and having longevity in the industry of my choosing.

How do you decide if you are going to read the book versus reading summaries on the internet?

I used to dislike the self-help genre, thinking every singe book was just a BS scheme like "how to become rich", when the real answer is by writing a book about it, but these two posts[0][1] along with reading a few self-help books that helped with some difficulties in my life made me change my attitude towards the genre.

Of course i still believe the majority of the genre is deceiving crap, quick get-rich schemes. Endless articles riffing on the same points, courses, mailing-lists, few good ideas buried in 200-250 pages of fluff because the author and publisher needs it to become a book instead of a blog series, false promises, etc. But i believe there are good books out there even if they are the minority.

[0] https://blog.tjcx.me/p/how-to-read-self-help

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQB3viVFhPA Note: I'm aware the creator of this video has written a successfully sold self-help book, but i haven't read it.

I'm from Greece, i completed my pre-uni school career in Greece and now I'm studying CS in a Greek University.

I'm mentioning the above only for those who know how bad the math education is in Greece. I won't touch the rest of the system...

I had to figure out on my own the beauty and usefulness of mathematics, but my current state with the subject is awe, curiosity, but also a terrified feeling of past memories, failures and years of debilitating anxiety.