
The Perils of Peak Attention - benbreen
https://newrepublic.com/article/137107/perils-peak-attention
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sotojuan
I've been experimenting with using my phone as little as possible. When I'm
out, I put it in my backpack or pocket on silent. At the very most, I'll use
it for music. I try really hard to not pull it out to check HN or others when
I'm bored. I also now check Twitter at most twice a week, for less than twenty
minutes.

It's too early to be confident in the results, but I do feel more "peaceful"
and able to focus, if that makes sense. I'm trying to extend this to my
computer and not get distracted by opening up new tabs every time I get a
break from thinking or coding.

For those interested, the inspiration for this experiment was Cal Newport's
book "Deep Work".

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apatters
The chief concern I have about being "submerged under the waves" of the 'net,
as this article puts it, is that we will lose the lone creative genius.

Hard to have a lot of truly original thoughts when you spend every waking
moment chatting with someone, instagramming everything you experience etc.

Design by committee is frequently inferior to having one expert with a strong
vision sit down in relative isolation and create. But it's getting harder and
harder to be isolated. We're raising an entire generation that doesn't even
understand the virtue of that concept.

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zerognowl
In a world where your Rushkoffs[1] go unread, we are spiraling into some sort
of local maxima where social media is realized for what it is, and the
problems associated with social media are epidemic.

The crux of the issue lies in the fact that nobody knows what social media is,
or indeed cyber. "Cyber" as it stands now is some far off place, in a William
Gibson fantasy, but infact operates in the world seemingly un-noticed by the
smartphone equipped masses.

As I said; it's not long until people realize they've been played and their
eyeball hours and data exhausts are being sold to the highest bidder for hard
cash. It makes me wonder why smartphones even cost so much. Surely they should
be 'free' given how much data can be gleaned from a smartphone owner?

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Rushkoff](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Rushkoff)

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gaus
Great read. I often compensate in life by turning up the intensity, finding
new things to interest me, etc. So, it's refreshing to hear a justification
for learning to enjoy moments of thoughtlessness and solitude when they come
about.

~~~
roflmyeggo
Agreed. It's refreshing to read a justification to learn to enjoy such
moments.

This is especially true in a society that tends to only place value on
thoughts that directly lead to tangible means of moving forward. Sometimes,
however, these moments of thoughtlessness can complement the aforementioned
moments of intensity. This combination can actually lead to an overall net
gain in achieving ones goals, whatever they may be.

A tough concept for the prototypical Type A personality to grapple with, no
doubt. But something that is worth pondering.

