Tatyana Chernigovskaya explained how to navigate the information flow and find what truly matters

To discover genuinely worthwhile scientific articles, films, music or books, it is important to stay in touch with people whose opinions you trust and value. Doctor of Biological and Philological Sciences, Professor, Director of the Institute for Cognitive Studies at St Petersburg State University and Academician of the Russian Academy of Education Tatyana Chernigovskaya shared this idea on 30 October during the Znanie.Science educational marathon at the National Centre RUSSIA.

"I'm an advocate for collecting gossip. I think it's a very effective method. There are people whose opinions I trust. One of them is the person I always ask about films: when a new release causes a stir, I'll ask, 'So, is it worth watching or not?' If we're talking about what we should do with the vast number of neurons, I'll turn to another person. And to a third, I'll ask, 'Tell me, which books published in the last three years are really worth reading?' There are so many that you just can't read them all. Why do I trust his judgement? Because he has taste. He'll say: 'Skip this one, but definitely read that,'" said Tatyana Chernigovskaya.

She added that this principle applies equally to music and to scientific papers. Hundreds may come out every day, and it's impossible to read them all. The method isn't perfect, she admitted — mistakes happen. But this is how one can stay afloat in the endless stream of information and find what is truly valuable and inspiring, concluded the Director of the Institute for Cognitive Studies at St Petersburg State University.