Indulge

“This is the best boat ever,” says boat enthusiast.

There are often two broad categories of products: things designed for “the masses” and things designed for someone who is really, really into that core thing to begin with. Many times, you’re getting advice about category A from someone in category B, and that can throw you.

Imagine you want to get a grill. You don’t have one and don’t do much grilling, but you’d like to have a barbecue over the summer, maybe cook a few burgers here and there. So you ask your friend for advice because that friend is a huge barbecue person and grilling enthusiast who is very involved in that hobby.

As far as information density is concerned, that’s a great choice! But soon you find yourself overwhelmed as your friend tries to give you a decade’s worth of hobbyist advice and steer you towards the sorts of grilling setups that make people like that drool. But you just wanted a grill, not a forty-thousand-dollar barbecue restaurant in your backyard.

“Mass market” stuff exists for a reason. Maybe you’ll really enjoy it and you’ll become one of those hobbyists for whatever it is, but maybe you won’t. So don’t feel like you have to over-indulge on the first day. It’s fine to just cook a burger.