Advantaged by Distraction
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Herbert A. Simon wrote maybe the most concise possible description of our modern struggle: "What information consumes is rather obvious: It consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it." We are, in short, terminally distracted. And distracted, the alarmists will remind you, was once a synonym for insane. (Shakespeare: "poverty hath distracted her.")
It's possible that we're evolving toward a new techno-cognitive nomadism, in which restlessness will be an advantage. It's been hypothesized that ADHD might even be an advantage in certain change-rich environments.
Are we living through a crisis of attention? Before I even have a chance to apologize, Meyer responds with the air of an Old Testament prophet. "Yes," he says. "And I think it's going to get a lot worse than people expect." He sees our distraction as a full-blown epidemic-a cognitive plague that has the potential to wipe out an entire generation of focused and productive thought.
My personal take is that I'm not convinced multi-tasking and the "Great Attention Crash" are a bad thing. At least not for me. I do well in overstimulated settings. In normal settings I'm at a disadvantage. In hyper-distracted settings I have the advantage.
Of course normal people want to reverse it. They're loosing the advantage.
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We are, in short, terminally distracted. And distracted, the alarmists will remind you, was once a synonym for insane. (Shakespeare: “poverty hath distracted her.”)
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Herbert A. Simon wrote maybe the most concise possible description of our modern struggle: “What information consumes is rather obvious: It consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it.”
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As we become more skilled at the 21st-century task Meyer calls “flitting,” the wiring of the brain will inevitably change to deal more efficiently with more information. The neuroscientist Gary Small speculates that the human brain might be changing faster today than it has since the prehistoric discovery of tools. Research suggests we’re already picking up new skills: better peripheral vision, the ability to sift information rapidly.
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Kids growing up now might have an associative genius we don’t—a sense of the way ten projects all dovetail into something totally new. They might be able to engage in seeming contradictions: mindful web-surfing, mindful Twittering. Maybe, in flights of irresponsible responsibility, they’ll even manage to attain the paradoxical, Zenlike state of focused distraction.
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It’s possible that we’re evolving toward a new techno-cognitive nomadism, in which restlessness will be an advantage.
- We have always evolved mentally as a society, leaving behind those who didn't have the mental capacity to keep up. Having an IQ in the low 70's wasn't that big a deal 100 years ago. Today you're handicapped. comment by tacanderson
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It’s been hypothesized that ADHD might even be an advantage in certain change-rich environments.
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Are we living through a crisis of attention? Before I even have a chance to apologize, Meyer responds with the air of an Old Testament prophet. “Yes,” he says. “And I think it’s going to get a lot worse than people expect.” He sees our distraction as a full-blown epidemic—a cognitive plague that has the potential to wipe out an entire generation of focused and productive thought.
- everyone thinks it's bad that our attention is getting stretched. could it be a good thing? could this bring about an evolutionary change that allows our brains to do even more? comment by tacanderson
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