Addicted to Distraction • Hacker News Board

Re: Addicted to Distraction

#61

Post by drfuchs » Sun, Nov 29, 2015, 6:15 PM UTC

keithpeter wrote: post #59

drfuchs wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It wasn't me who down-voted you, but perhaps it was someone else who wasn't familiar with a single one of the capitalized words/phrases in the paragraph: "I carry a box with a couple of sets of Sharpies of various colours plus Muji pens and pencils. Grabbed and distributed in a coordinated Mexican wave. Seriously, the full Csikszentmihalyi flow."

OK, thanks for feedback and apologies for specific references, here goes with the definitions... Sharpies: 2mm thick permanent marker pens in bright colours Muji: Japanese stationery shop with a good stock of fine nib gel and ink pens Mihali Csikszentmihalyi is a philosopher who has articulated the concept of flow-state. The relevant Wikipedia page is a good basic guide [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_%28p…

"Mexican wave"?

Re: Addicted to Distraction

#62

Post by ThomPete » Sun, Nov 29, 2015, 6:16 PM UTC

pilatesfordogs wrote: post #60

ThomPete wrote: post #6

I haven't really gotten my thoughts clear on this so excuse me for the probably unclear formulation. I recently realized that one of the unfortunate consequences of this is the way many in my generation (I'm 41) brings up our kids. Instead of teaching them one thing in depth we are forcing them through a million different subjects way before they even turn 10. It's not unusual in my circles that kids are both playing…

If you meet a professional athlete you'll understand firsthand what drawbacks there are to spending your first 2 decades super specialising.

Mastering does not mean on elite level.

You can master something without taking it into extremes. It's more going through the ups and downs of learning and experiencing progress and lack thereof.

Re: Addicted to Distraction

#63

Post by ThomPete » Sun, Nov 29, 2015, 6:18 PM UTC

spooningtamarin wrote: post #40

ThomPete wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes but this is something I believe kids are perfectly fine figuring out themselves rather than parents sending them to all the things they wished they had learned when they were kids :)

Not really. How can they figure out they love ice skating if they never tried it? It is up to the parent to give direction to their child, not pressure them into something that they don't want but show them what is possible and out there. Giving a child the freedom to do what it wants is probably not going to end up well in majority of cases.

Kids don't live in a vacum.

I have never told my son he should learn skateboarding, be a scientist or play music.

I didn't come out of a musical family and ended up playing music professionally for a couple of years.

No one is talk about giving them freedom to do what they want.

Re: Addicted to Distraction

#64

Post by pilatesfordogs » Sun, Nov 29, 2015, 6:18 PM UTC

Software isn't just eating the world, it's eating our lives. I think that this is going to become much worse the more intrusive the "IOT" becomes. Being able to manage our attention will become as significant as managing our health.

Re: Addicted to Distraction

#65

Post by kristofferR » Sun, Nov 29, 2015, 6:20 PM UTC

DanBC wrote: post #53

kristofferR wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "You continue to use it, even though you know it's doing you harm". Well, sure. I'm wasting time all the time on the internet, even though I know I shouldn't. Sometimes it have real negative effects on my life, it's certainly a real addiction by that definition. I've actually experimented a bit with chemical addiction to caffeine and nicotine (consuming a lot of caffeine/nicotine for a few weeks then stopping compl…

I said "part" of the modern definition of dependence. By snipping that you distort the meaning of what I said. > Are you claiming that chemical addiction/dependence isn't really addiction/dependence if you can "override" it? No, and you can't read that from my comment. > To claim that my addiction to procrastination isn't really an addiction because I recognize it and doesn't feel so powerless than I would want to ki…

I missed the "part" word, sorry for that.

> To claim that my addiction to procrastination isn't really an addiction because I recognize it and doesn't feel so powerless than I would want to kill myself is absurd.

> I didn't claim that, and to think I did form what I wrote is absurd.

I wasn't referring to what you wrote, I was referring to what the poster I originally replied to (which I assumed you agreed with because you replied to my questioning of his statement with "Because ...") claimed. Sorry for the the assumption.

Re: Addicted to Distraction

#66

Post by ThomPete » Sun, Nov 29, 2015, 6:21 PM UTC

keithpeter wrote: post #38

ThomPete wrote: post #6

I haven't really gotten my thoughts clear on this so excuse me for the probably unclear formulation. I recently realized that one of the unfortunate consequences of this is the way many in my generation (I'm 41) brings up our kids. Instead of teaching them one thing in depth we are forcing them through a million different subjects way before they even turn 10. It's not unusual in my circles that kids are both playing…

I teach basic maths to adults mainly but also a couple of classes of teenagers in a further education college in the UK - the US equivalent is called a community college I believe. This year, I won the timetabling lottery and got classes with fine art, graphics, fashion and media students. Usual distractions (phones: Facebook, various instant messaging services &c). I gave each student a simple cardboard document wal…

Sure they can. It's a human ability. What I am talking about is a cultural thing not genetic.

Re: Addicted to Distraction

#67

Post by keithpeter » Sun, Nov 29, 2015, 6:23 PM UTC

drfuchs wrote: post #61

keithpeter wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OK, thanks for feedback and apologies for specific references, here goes with the definitions... Sharpies: 2mm thick permanent marker pens in bright colours Muji: Japanese stationery shop with a good stock of fine nib gel and ink pens Mihali Csikszentmihalyi is a philosopher who has articulated the concept of flow-state. The relevant Wikipedia page is a good basic guide [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_%28p…

"Mexican wave"?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_%28audience%29

I was using the term as a metaphor for the way that particular group of students just all went for the chance to draw something.

Thankyou for engaging.

Re: Addicted to Distraction

#68

Post by stygiansonic » Sun, Nov 29, 2015, 6:24 PM UTC

cobweb wrote: post #54

I can easily go a bit tab mad. And noticed this in myself ages ago. At work I vowed not to look at sites that weren't work related. And instead checked personal email/sites before or after work. I was more organised. I even used to sit on the train and plan my days work. And it paid off. These days I'm more and more distracted, have issues concentrating, and I don't have a smartphone, which I'd probably gravitate tow…

My take on multitasking is that it mostly doesn't work, at least not for cognitive activities. But, I guess it depends on your definition of "multitasking" and "working/not working".

There are, perhaps, some activities which most people can multitask at - such as, driving a routine route while carrying on a light conversation. (But even that might distract from one or the other) But try something more complex - such as even trying to carry on a simple conversation while driving in an unfamiliar area or when you're lost - and quickly you'll find you can only focus on one thing at a time.

So, my sweeping generalization of people surfing and talking simultaneously is that if the two activities are very unrelated, (different topics) it's likely far less attention is being paid to each than the level of attention you're giving to reading your single article.

Re: Addicted to Distraction

#69

Post by jellicle » Sun, Nov 29, 2015, 6:24 PM UTC

keithpeter wrote: post #59

drfuchs wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It wasn't me who down-voted you, but perhaps it was someone else who wasn't familiar with a single one of the capitalized words/phrases in the paragraph: "I carry a box with a couple of sets of Sharpies of various colours plus Muji pens and pencils. Grabbed and distributed in a coordinated Mexican wave. Seriously, the full Csikszentmihalyi flow."

OK, thanks for feedback and apologies for specific references, here goes with the definitions... Sharpies: 2mm thick permanent marker pens in bright colours Muji: Japanese stationery shop with a good stock of fine nib gel and ink pens Mihali Csikszentmihalyi is a philosopher who has articulated the concept of flow-state. The relevant Wikipedia page is a good basic guide [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_%28p…

I'm going to translate from teacher-ese for you:

"While my students normally exhibited a substantial amount of distraction in our class, I was pleased to discover that since they were all artistically-oriented students, an impromptu art activity was able to occupy their full undivided attention for an extended period of time."

You're welcome.

Re: Addicted to Distraction

#70

Post by ThomPete » Sun, Nov 29, 2015, 6:24 PM UTC

adrianN wrote: post #48

nommm-nommm wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>It's not unusual in my circles that kids are both playing football, taking piano lessons, learning french on top of their school and homework. We are filling our kid's time with all these structured activities to "enrich" their lives. To give them a leg up in the adult world. To make them smarter and well rounded. We fill our houses with a whole bunch of "enriching" toys. This is extremely misguided. The majority of…

There is no boredom in the modern world. The Internet is an endless cesspool of poor quality entertainment, expertly arranged to give us the impression that we learn something or interact meaningfully with other people. Believing that a child will improve themselves and realize their potential without guidance and an appropriate amount of forcing is, in my opinion, misguided.

I don't think it's misguided at all in fact it gets to the very essence of what it could mean to be successful in a modern world. The ability to develop you on your own premises rather than the rest of the modern worlds.