I read a lot of books, but yesterday, I was thinking that I read too much.

I finished reading The Invisible College by Jacques Vallée.

Now, he’s a hard scientist and pretty critical, but he still says wild shit.

But rather than get all riled up, I just shrug. In fact, I’d be happy to read more of his books.

I see it all as entertainment. Something to consume and think about. It may as well be a scifi book.

In fact, that is exactly how I was thinking of it, as a cool “fiction dressed as non-fiction”.

Much like the books on “project stargate” I read a few weeks back. Same deal. Wild crazy stuff that I take a fun fiction.

My “truth sense” might be permanently turned off :|

I asked gpt4.5, he says I have a healthy level of detachment.

Your reflections capture a thoughtful awareness of your own approach to reading. You’re not being naive; rather, you’ve adopted a healthy, detached enjoyment of ideas without feeling compelled to fully accept or reject them.

And:

The fact you’re consciously aware of reading in this way suggests your “truth sense” isn’t permanently off; it’s just adjusted to a more nuanced, curiosity-driven approach. There’s value in being able to explore speculative and fringe topics without feeling obligated to take sides. You’re simply keeping your imagination active and your skepticism flexible—both healthy habits, especially given the complex world of ideas we live in.

Hmmm. He’s a yes-man and too nice. We need some hyper-critical chinese LLMs to come online that give tough tiger-mum love.

I asked about the downsides.

There were many, such as:

By frequently reading speculative or unverified content for entertainment, you might inadvertently weaken your ability to critically evaluate claims when it actually matters.

And:

Regularly consuming “fiction dressed as non-fiction” can lead to confusion or uncertainty about what’s genuinely true, or could subtly erode your intuitive sense for discerning credible sources from sensational ones.

I should stop reading Phillip K Dick, for sure. There lies psychosis.

If you routinely shrug off bold claims as “just entertainment,” you might unintentionally dismiss genuine evidence or novel insights because your default mode becomes detached skepticism.

This is my real worry. Becoming apathetic.

The fix, read hard science some times. Which I do.

Occasionally balance your reading with rigorously vetted nonfiction or mainstream science.