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Regaining control of your attention

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Re: Regaining control of your attention

#71

Post by pjc50 »

canadian_voter wrote: post #25

“We believe that we live in the ‘age of information'. That there has been an information ‘explosion,’ an information ‘revolution.’ While in a certain narrow sense this is the case, in many important ways just the opposite is true. We also live at a moment of deep ignorance, when vital knowledge that humans have always possessed about who we are and where we live seems beyond our reach. An Unenlightenment. An age of m…

> Does it really matter if that cute girl at the check-out is an anti-Semite?

This matters rather a lot if you're Jewish. You're arguing that "it doesn't matter if you don't look up", Star Wars passim.

Similarly it matters if your hairdresser is an anti-vaccer and spreads something contagious to you.

A certain amount of difference can be looked past, but when it comes to matters of life and death - and it can come to that surprisingly easily when things get heated - it matters.

Re: Regaining control of your attention

#72

Post by pjc50 »

westoncb wrote: post #54
ue_ wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a little bothered by the "fulfill their economic roles quietly and efficiently" part. I don't know if it was your intention, but from my point of view this seems like you're saying to effectively shut up and get on with the job. I do not agree with this line of thinking; often people have valid problems with what they're doing. I think that if there is injustice, one should speak up about it, rather than "fulfill…

I'm almost certain the parent's comment is tongue in cheek. The last sentence, "It's all relative isn't it?" seems clearly mocking. Of course if I'm mistaken, then I totally agree!

Poe's law: sarcasm is now indistinguishable from sincerely argued extreme positions.

Re: Regaining control of your attention

#73

Post by jdmichal »

michaelchisari wrote: post #23

Mario is finite, bounded. The edges are clear. You pay once, and there’s no other way for Nintendo to extract money from you. No single player is a mark. There are no whales. In Mario you can not only see the end but get there. My favorite games to play on my phone are those made by Square Enix. Final fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Dragon Quest, lots of classic remakes. They range from $6.99 to $20.99, which made people ba…

Of course, SE also publishes Brave Exvius... Which is not only a "gacha" game, but has hours of grinding thrown on top for good measure.

Re: Regaining control of your attention

#74

Post by A_Crazy_Idea »

pjc50 wrote: post #71
canadian_voter wrote: post #25

“We believe that we live in the ‘age of information'. That there has been an information ‘explosion,’ an information ‘revolution.’ While in a certain narrow sense this is the case, in many important ways just the opposite is true. We also live at a moment of deep ignorance, when vital knowledge that humans have always possessed about who we are and where we live seems beyond our reach. An Unenlightenment. An age of m…

> Does it really matter if that cute girl at the check-out is an anti-Semite? This matters rather a lot if you're Jewish. You're arguing that "it doesn't matter if you don't look up", Star Wars passim. Similarly it matters if your hairdresser is an anti-vaccer and spreads something contagious to you. A certain amount of difference can be looked past, but when it comes to matters of life and death - and it can come to…

Aren't all opinions a function of preferences, born out of evolution and environment? Only if we had some kind of book...

Re: Regaining control of your attention

#75

Post by b_emery »

ffggvv wrote: post #29
canadian_voter wrote: post #25

“We believe that we live in the ‘age of information'. That there has been an information ‘explosion,’ an information ‘revolution.’ While in a certain narrow sense this is the case, in many important ways just the opposite is true. We also live at a moment of deep ignorance, when vital knowledge that humans have always possessed about who we are and where we live seems beyond our reach. An Unenlightenment. An age of m…

Sometimes I wonder, what if earth is really flat? What if we thought we were right but instead we were the flat-earthers? What is truth?? EDIT: Well if Trump takes us to war, we will see a lot of fireworks /s.

> Sometimes I wonder, what if earth is really flat?

Feel free to prove it to yourself: http://www.popsci.com/10-ways-you-can-prove-earth-is-round

Re: Regaining control of your attention

#76

Post by jdmichal »

eru wrote: post #69
gph wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plus it's not like Lynchburg is some tiny unheard of town. It's actually a decent sized city, and it's fairly well known for being home to Jerry Falwell's Liberty University. Not to mention the history both in Lynchburg and the surrounding area from Revolutionary times to the Civil War. It's like being surprised that there's a city called Reading in England. "Must be a bunch of libraries there".

For non-locals: Reading (town) and Reading (verb) are pronounced differently. (And don't even try to guess how Leicester is pronounced from the spelling.)

For those whose curiosity was piqued:

Reading - /rɛdɪŋ/ or "red-ing"

Leicester - /lɛstər/ or "less-ter"

No idea how they worked out that second one, and Wikipedia isn't too helpful there.

Re: Regaining control of your attention

#77

Post by markdown »

abandonliberty wrote: post #64

Go to Cuba. Internet is only available in hotel lobbies and government parks. It runs you 3$/hr. However, be warned that Cuba (including Havana and the resorts) is a machine designed to extract money from foreigners. While you can get by for He was right. It's nearly impossible to find an authentic experience in Havana. They'll tell you anything to make you happy and get your money. Even the family I stayed with - wh…

Just a reminder, folks: this is one anecdote (or two, if you count the Steeves one he included).

How'd you feel if your city was summed up thus with buckets of tar and a great big brush?

Re: Regaining control of your attention

#78

Post by akiselev »

canadian_voter wrote: post #25

“We believe that we live in the ‘age of information'. That there has been an information ‘explosion,’ an information ‘revolution.’ While in a certain narrow sense this is the case, in many important ways just the opposite is true. We also live at a moment of deep ignorance, when vital knowledge that humans have always possessed about who we are and where we live seems beyond our reach. An Unenlightenment. An age of m…

But ultimately who cares if your hairdresser is an anti-vaccer, or your tennis partner is a flat-earther? Does it really matter if that cute girl at the check-out is an anti-Semite? Does it harm anyone if the guy building your deck believes in zero-point energy?

Just wait until diseases that were previously eliminated from the continent cause outbreaks in the elementary school your child attends. Just wait until a demagogue exploits prejudices to commit unspeakable atrocities or until some ideologues push anti-intellectualism to the point where our leaders are unable to overcome partisanship long enough to even acknowledge the existence of what might well soon be the biggest change in our species' environment since the last ice age.

All of this has happened before and all of this is happening now, right before our eyes. We can care about all of these conflicting perspectives and try to mold them without becoming unbearable zealots. We can't afford not to.

(I think I missed your invisible /s?)

Re: Regaining control of your attention

#79

Post by graeme »

tdaltonc wrote: post #70
graeme wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh, I wrote it before the "feedback" section. I think I'll stick with my spotlight launch method, as it removes the physical action urge entirely. Do you think it would be useful to add a physical item nonetheless?

Do you usually access your problem app though spotlight? If so, you could try creating a space icon linked to your problem app and give the space icon a name that will cause it to appear above your problem app in spotlight results, then search for it in spotlight a few times and see if you can get the space icon to appear in Top Hits when searched. The principle behind all of this is to get the space icon to appear i…

Ah yes, that could work. I'll try it when I have my phone handy (I don't bring it to the office).

Re: Regaining control of your attention

#80

Post by jessriedel »

burkaman wrote: post #65
rwc wrote: post #8

Admittedly off-topic, but why add unnecessarily ignorant asides (in the first sentence to boot): "...I lived on the grounds of an old estate down in central Virginia, next to a town called — terrifyingly — Lynchburg..." ...when a 10-second Google search reveals the less-than-terrifying reality: First settled in 1757, Lynchburg was named for its founder, John Lynch, who at the age of 17 started a ferry service at a fo…

Not totally damning, but 10 seconds more would reveal that "lynching" is named after his younger brother: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Lynch_(judge)

OK, but the younger brother moved away from the area that would be called Lynchburg even before it was named that. The town is not named after the crime and the crime is not named after the town.
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