[HN Gopher] Pathologies of the attention economy
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Pathologies of the attention economy
Author : longdefeat
Score : 26 points
Date : 2022-09-26 20:05 UTC (2 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (theconvivialsociety.substack.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (theconvivialsociety.substack.com)
| kixiQu wrote:
| You know who wrote a ton about attention in the past?
|
| Monks.
|
| Reading about how medieval monks conceived of attention and
| distraction in both functional and spiritual contexts is useful
| to ground the conversation in how technology (here, often
| literacy) impacts our ability to do what we mean to do. It is a
| lot easier (given more generally available/palatable sources) to
| begin the conversation at the dawn of the modern, but we really
| shouldn't!
|
| (I'll bet you there's good stuff outside European/Western
| history, too, I just happen to know the Christian monastic stuff)
| Aardvark777 wrote:
| This sounds interesting. Do you have any reading suggestions?
| ikinsey wrote:
| Can you recommend any literature or resources related to
| Christian monastic thinking on cultivating attention?
| kixiQu wrote:
| Hmm. I would say that the things to look up are the midday
| demon - you will see that later writings psychologize
| "acedia" more (another useful term; sort of represents
| executive dysfunction, though often especially the kind you
| get from depression), but I think it's fascinating to read
| those earliest writings that are portraying distraction as
| this external force that acts upon you. In this genre: the
| advice given to monks on how to stay focused, at work or at
| prayer. Re: work, copyists' complaints particularly have
| interesting analogical merit. Re: prayer, "lectio divina
| boredom" might be a good rabbit hole to go down.
| 082349872349872 wrote:
| "Noli, obsecro, istum disturbare."
| noindiecred wrote:
| Oh look, someone else with strange opinions about ADHD! I'm glad
| that I am able to receive treatment for it - yes, thanks to
| pharmaceuticals, which the author disdains, but also thanks to
| evidence-based cognitive behavior therapy and self knowledge. It
| looks like the author hasn't done quite enough of the listening
| to others with ADHD that he pays himself on the back for doing.
| My symptoms were interfering with my relationship with my spouse
| and keeping me from being an effective parent to our child. So
| instead of seeking treatment I should have just... stopped loving
| capitalism so much?
| jaqalopes wrote:
| I am diagnosed with ADHD and despite feeling like I've learned a
| lot about my condition I found ideas in this article new and
| stimulating. The idea of "pathologized" inattention makes
| complete sense on paper--of course if you sell attention-draining
| digital media you would want to divert attention (heh) from any
| harms your business is causing.
|
| So I grant this is definitely happening, but it begs the question
| of why in this environment 100% of people don't suffer from ADHD?
| One reasonable answer, which I cannot prove beyond saying it
| matches my anecdotal experience, is that the ADHD problem is part
| nurture (information overload from a changing media environment
| that affects everyone) but also part nature (every brain is
| naturally a little bit different).
|
| I have _always_ had inattention--just ask my parents and
| childhood teachers. It had nothing to do with the Internet. No
| question the internet has posed extra challenges to my naturally
| weaker attention, in a similar way to how the invention of
| skyscrapers posed a challenge to people in wheelchairs. This
| analogy fails with the invention of elevators, for which the ADHD
| sufferer has no equivalent accommodation in our modern media
| world.
|
| I wish I could invite non-ADHD-havers into my brain for a day to
| show them what it's really like. Even now, as an adult with
| robust coping strategies, inattention afflicts me in all corners
| of my life. I struggle with the unexpected if it hits me when I'm
| focused on something, which leads to problems making friends or
| navigating stimulating social environments. I have trouble
| listening to friends or dates in busy bars or cafes, which is a
| related but distinct problem. When I'm trying to get into a flow
| at work I frequently get random, highly salient impulses to do
| other things that _are_ important but aren't the thing I need to
| do at that moment. Crucially I resist these urges, but they make
| achieving the flow I crave--and the success of my work--more
| difficult.
|
| Even in current year, I think a lot of people (and certainly a
| lot of doctors!) don't believe that any of this is real, and all
| I want from life is to take speed and scroll Reddit and Twitter
| all night. Let me assure you that this is not the case. If
| anything, the people I know IRL who have ADHD are among the most
| driven people out there. They almost have to be, because the
| minute they drop their guard their dreams start slipping away.
| swayvil wrote:
| On the other side of the coin, "meditation" seems to be gaining
| popularity these days. It promises to make you more in-control of
| your attention and less vulnerable to the various powers of
| marketing.
|
| But then they butcher meditation into a product, package it in an
| app and rent it to you by the month. Lol.
|
| Google "meditation monetization". Smell the unironic gushing and
| marketspeak.
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