Concentration?
I recently had a conversation with several people about being able to sustain concentration for serious, prolonged reading and how I feared I was losing that ability. Twice this week I've read the theory that our technology usage patterns are creating this shift, so I'm certainly not alone in my musings. Some organizations are creating email free Fridays, so that employees have a full day without instantly compelling distractions.
Information Age
Now, I don't Twitter, don't have a Blackberry, don't have a cell phone with email capability, and I still share these thoughts. I'm not saying that I'm becoming a technophobe, but feeling this shift personally, I can't help wonder where it leads us. Your thoughts?
"in an article in the current Atlantic magazine headlined "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" author Nicholas Carr writes, "What the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation. My mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles. Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski."
Information Age
Now, I don't Twitter, don't have a Blackberry, don't have a cell phone with email capability, and I still share these thoughts. I'm not saying that I'm becoming a technophobe, but feeling this shift personally, I can't help wonder where it leads us. Your thoughts?
posted by cynthialb at 2:16 PM
1 Comments:
The 7th of July Wall Street Journal has a great Unloading Information Overload article stating those who manage information/distractions well are at an advantage. Those who don't are not.
Three thoughts come to mind. These are not necassarily part of the WSJ article.
Simple is better. When I structure what my to do list for the day is, the fewer the tasks broken down into steps the more creative I can be. Sometimes, I do have to 'think big' but smaller things tend not to be so overwhelming make information sign on xzy ... instead of teach at every opportunity xzy to all people. When my organization system or plans with constant interuptions and needs of others for complicated steps occur things tend to fail or breakdown.
When other distractions come into the mix, I'm less than likely to learn something or make a more informed decisions or follow instructions. Try watching tv and doing state/federal income tax filings at the same time.
There is elegance in simplicity. We learn what we feel we need to or told what we need to know. The rest can easily fit into the 'just in case' I need to know or entertainment category. Do we need to know how a vaccine for x or y works other than it works and to trust those who make the suggestion for us to get it in an informed manner...
Multitasking is not productive unless it is for entertainment value. When the radio is on, I tend to enjoying cleaning the house better. Yes, it may take me longer to clean the house, but I can learn or enjoy music simultaneously while doing something that may not be as fun: cleaning house.
Ronald Knuth, a seminal author who wrote the Art of Programming, says that he has not used email since 1990. Source: Lifehacker post. If you want to contact him, use postal mail. It probably has cut down on the amount of SPAM he gets :). Yet, he is a well respected programming author. Hmm, maybe I could try that :) probably not practical for me.
Obw, there is a London Times article on a study of how students learn by chunking info. Study subjects were students who grew up with the Internet. Study conclusions stated that the upcoming generation learn in chunks and multitask frequently. Having just read comments about the study, I don't feel comfortable in commenting anymore about it. But it is a good thing to look at...
Well, this post may seem a little disjointed as I have been answering questions at a service desk and writing these comments. I guess this is just the price of multitasking at a service desk: a long flowing comments post.
Later
Steven S.
WSJ Article
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121538872997031145.html
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