The Distraction Addiction: Getting The Information You Need And The Communication You Want, Without Enraging Your Family, Annoying Your Colleagues, And Destroying Your Soul (2013)
About book The Distraction Addiction: Getting The Information You Need And The Communication You Want, Without Enraging Your Family, Annoying Your Colleagues, And Destroying Your Soul (2013)
The author, who is a self described technology junkie, PhD, and Microsoft research fellow, discusses the impact that excessive communications and media tech can have on our individual psyches and by extension our lives. The topic is not new, but most writing of this nature comes from more of a Luddite perspective, which Dr. Pang very clearly is not.Dr. Pang spells out an eight point plan to help one to use technology mindfully and productively as opposed to passively and obsessively. I found some of his case studies to be interesting, particularly the neurologic studies performed on Monks and the physical, beneficial changes that meditation can have on the mind. He also presented some new concepts to me such as "Zenware" or programs which help you to avoid mindlessly wasting hours looking at cat videos on youtube or re-checking email constantly. Quotes/ideas I loved:*The idea of the "monkey mind"--constantly distracted*"Freeing yourself from things that don't matter lets you focus on the things that do." (106)*"Rather than thinking of digital and human abilities as competing, think of them as complementary. You can remember in ways computers can't, and they can store and retrieve information more accurately than you ever could. You havethe capacity to deal with ambiguity, to make novel connections, and to imagine, which is something no computer can rival; they can work with a precision and attention that you could never match. You can create an extended mind that's strengthened by the joining of diverse skills, not weakened by unending distractions, unhelpful complexity, and unexamined habits." (133-4)*"Equipped with these rules--engage with care; be mindful about my intentions; remember the people on the other side of the screen; focus on quality, not quantity; live first, tweet later; and be deliberate--I set out to see if I could make my tweeting sound more like myself...I notice after a few weeks...I'm on social media a lot less often, but a lot more purposefully. I cut way down on the reposting and retweeting...if 17,000 people have already liked a video, do I really need to make it 17,001?...when I really pay attention to what I'm doing, my Twitter stream looks more like a Renaissance commonplace book." (164)*Check out the book More Work for Mother*Walking as creativity stimulator...right up my alley! Charles Darwin wrote 18 books while living in the country and taking lots of long walks.*Check out Abraham Heschel's The Sabbath*8 steps to "contemplative computing":1. Be human2. Be calm3. Be mindful4. Make conscious choices.5. Extend your abilities.6. Seek flow.7. Use technology to engage with the world.8. Use technology in restorative ways.
Do You like book The Distraction Addiction: Getting The Information You Need And The Communication You Want, Without Enraging Your Family, Annoying Your Colleagues, And Destroying Your Soul (2013)?
I highly recommend this. It has very practical advice to gain control of computer/ device usage.
—kchingisgay
Some worthiness but not what I expected from catchy title.
—bindy
It was okay - no earth shattering new information
—KaylaKarnage85
