Hexagram 49 > Hexagram 32
As someone that once managed 11 researchers at a company making over ten million dollars a year, the zeroes and commas in my bank account depended on dodging research obstacles, and finding everything from a CEO's email, to those archaic things called "fax numbers."
And as someone that has had a personal incentive to learn about everything from marketing to magic, I've learned how to quickly do deep-dives on every topic that puts me in a periodic headlock.
What much of this research magic comes down to, though, is balancing being clever with being persistent. And I believe that the ability to find helpful information is a skill that can easily, and quickly be learned.
So, it's with that preface that I present to you the most important principles I have for quickly combing through internet information, to end up a little bit smarter, and a little better prepared. Let's begin.
Queries To Find Specific Information, And For Researching Specific Websites
1) Finding Specific Instances of Phrases or Keywords
For trying to find a specific mention of something:
"search-phrase"
Ex: "ontological-coaching"
2) Finding Specific Content From Specific Websites
Try
site:website.com "keyword-phrase"
Ex: site:nytimes.com "method-acting"
How To Find Contact Information
This is something I did professionally for quite a few years, but sometimes you need to find a number or an email address, and there's ways you can increase your chances of success:
1) Queries For Finding Emails
If you know the name of the website associated with the person you're looking to contact, try this:
"@website.com" first name
"@website.com" last name
Or, if you want to find every email publicly listed for a specific company:
"@website.com"
2) Finding Phone Numbers
Try this:
site:website.com "phone"
Another tip for finding phone numbers is to go to the website you're researching, look for an About Us, or Contact page, and check there.
Additionally, many site layouts have contact information at the very bottom of the homepage.
Note: this is more applicable to large companies that individuals.
3) Online Services For Finding And Assessing Contact Information
If you want to check if an email you find is valid, give https://www.verifyemailaddress.org/ a shot.
For paid services that help you find contact information, try:
But hopefully you won't need that.
Using Incognito Mode For Unbiased Search Results
This is especially helpful if you're doing keyword research for SEO, or assessing what ads you may want to buy for your website, opening an incognito tab and seeing what results come up for your topic is a helpful way to get a sense of what is ranking highest for a particular subject.
How To Research Using Social Media
For time-sensitive research, using the search function in place like X (formerly Twitter), can be helpful in finding new pieces or sources of information.
If you find someone discussing a certain subject on social media that you find interesting, go to their profile.
Check their favorites/likes, or bookmarks.
Check out who they're following and then do the same with those people as well.
Whether it's finding a new band, or a new book, going about researching social media in this way can help you bump into things you're grateful for finding.
Words of Caution About Social Media (Especially Reddit)
At the time of writing, there's been praise heaped upon Reddit and how Google is now simply a feeder system for information that originates on the former.
With that said, I believe it's in our best interest to remember that people with names like ScrambledToast6408 might be bots or people with the desire to deceive.
With Reddit becoming known as the go-to place for research, it's going to leave it susceptible to people subtlely plugging products, or spreading disinformation.
With everyone now in agreement that it's best to get recommendations and answers to your questions from real people, the opposite will begin gravitating towards it.
Don't let Reddit be your sole source of information on a subject, and when you have to make that so, take what you read on the site with a grain of flaky sea salt. AI search becoming more popular, and sourcing places like Reddit, will result in a regurgitated cycle of distilled information getting further distilled, until you're left without a true human source for some of these answers.
And with AI text and speech getting more and more advanced, you'll be doing yourself a favor by reminding yourself "maybe/maybe not" when it comes to answers for the most important questions you're asking the internet.
How To Conduct Book Research
1) Searching For Information In Books
Print books are lovely, but I also love Kindle editions and pdfs for the ability to quickly search for keywords or phrases in them.
If you have access to a digital copy of a book, take advantage of the ease in searching when you're searching a specific piece of information.
And with pdf copies, you also have the added benefit of uploading them to AI search services and getting quick summarizations of key information (see the AI research section for more on that).
2) Finding New Books
As a starting place, if there's some books you love, go to their Amazon page.
See what similar titles are recommended based on that.
Additionally, check the author name links and scope out the author page on Amazon, to see if there's other books by the author that you're not yet familiar with.
How To Use Bookmarking Sites To Stumble Into Content You'll Enjoy
While there's more than one bookmarking site in existence, one of my favorite ways to find new information is by specifically using Pinboard.in.
It's a bookmarking site where users can save links they find, and this is how it does some of the hard work for you.
1) Checking What's New And Popular
Even without an account you can check its recent and popular tabs, and get a glance of what's getting saved a lot, or what’s new at the moment.
2) Searching Specific Keywords
But another way I use the site is by researching topics by entering keywords in the search bar.
This can lead you to links and new information that's extremely serendipitous.
3) Searching Through Results From Specific Publications
And it's also helpful to search publication names (especially if you’re a subscriber) because you can unearth articles that you may have never seen yourself from that website's archives.
Ex: "gq.com" bringing up what's been saved.
4) Searching Through Specific Users' Saved Links
When you find a link that's relevant, or interesting, it's also a good idea to click through to the user's profile of who saved it.
Chances are they may have more content saved that you'd be interested in.
And if you see multiple people saved a link you're interested in, go to each of their profiles. See if there's other interesting things you can save for later.
5) Saving The Most Useful Profiles
If you see that a handful of users consistently save things you're interested in, start saving links to their profiles.
Make a document of the users that find things most consistently relevant to you so you can keep coming back to them for future unearthed gems. It's like a curated link blog in that sense, and it can save you a lot of effort in obtaining new, valuable information.
How To Research With Old, And Paywalled Sources
I strongly encourage supporting publications you find valuable, but I understand, sometimes you need to see only one article from a publication you otherwise have no interest in.
For that, you can try archive.is.
And for websites that have since melted off of the internet, there's always the Wayback Machine.
How To Conduct Successful Research With AI
Perplexity.ai and Google Gemini/Notebook LM are two useful tools for finding research, and using each concurrently will give you the best chance of success.
Perplexity is probably my preferred service at the time of writing for internet research, especially due to it consistently providing sources (using its Pro search can often provide even better results). But try out both and see what works best for you.
Let's get into how we can use AI search tools effectively:
1) Ask First Principle Questions
Often, when learning a new subject, the most important thing is to understand what principles matter above all else.
Ask a site like Perplexity "what are the first principles of subject"
Ex: What are the first principles of fashion design
By doing so, you can save a lot of time, and understand the elements that will provide you with a floor of knowledge to build upon.
2) Clarify And Simplify Misunderstandings
AI search is very good at explaining things in terms that you may understand a little better than a blog post from an expert.
Asking "what do the authors of ____ mean when they say ____" or "please explain string theory in the simplest way possible" can enable you to overcome learning barriers and move on to other subjects.
3) Using Follow-Up Questions
With Perplexity, in particular, there's often suggested searches beneath the question you just asked.
This can help you take in a lot of valuable information about a subject, very quickly, so take advantage of this when relevant.
4) Using AI Search With Attachments/Documents
If you have files like pdfs, try uploading them to these services and fire off your questions.
By doing so, you can have a back and forth and get direct answers faster than you would using ctrl+f or the table of contents/index.
One particularly successful way of doing this is attaching multiple pieces of information on a subject and asking "please provide a detailed practical summary of these documents." With Perplexity, this query was very successful in simplifying many strands of detailed information.
5) Additional Potentially Helpful Queries
"what should every beginner know about ____"
"what are the best sources of information when it comes to the subject of ____"
"what are the best books for ____"
"what is a detailed practical summary of the book ____"
"what are the biggest misconceptions about ____"
Final Thoughts
"Research" doesn't necessarily mean 'finding truth'.
With every bit of information you find on the internet, do your due diligence and double-check. Especially when important things are at stake.
Don't believe every dot com medical diagnosis, every user with a potential ulterior motive, or every book, just because it's a book.
Being curious and reminding yourself "I don't know" can be your biggest sources of success, and gratitude-inducing caution.
Wanting to know more is your best friend, but a desire for certainty can be your biggest weakness. Let's all humble ourselves as much as we can in hopes of ending up a little bit smarter on the other side of our research.
Good luck.