Intentionality

The Notebook Rule

Over the past couple of months, I’ve been fault-testing something I’m going to call The Notebook Rule.

It goes like this:

Before any interaction with a screen, I write down, in a notebook, what I intend to do. Then, as soon as I’m done doing that thing, I walk away (close the laptop, put the phone down, literally walk away, etc).

“Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.”

― Simone Weil

What this exercise shows students is that just because you have looked at something doesn’t mean that you have seen it. Just because something is available instantly to vision does not mean that it is available instantly to consciousness. Or, in slightly more general terms: access is not synonymous with learning. What turns access into learning is... See more

Maybe the real problem isn’t overabundance of access to information, but the invasive nature of it. In both political and spiritual realms, I’ve always self-identified as “seeker.” I like going out , into the woods or churches or protests or city alleys, and drawing my conclusions from there. I’m a reader, observer, and interviewer—always seeking... See more