learning & curiosity
what if curiosity cured the cat?
learning & curiosity
nd yet . At the end of the day, attention is still ours. No matter how many forces try to seize it, shape it, or sell it - our attention begins and ends with us. We are the only ones who can reclaim it. That’s our responsibility. And that’s also our power.
yana yuhai • How to Pay Attention Again
If you think about it, this makes a lot of sense: seeing coincidences means finding connections or patterns that are usually hidden from view. That helps us overcome mental blocks, think outside the box, and come up with new ideas.
algorithms are killing coincidences. what does that mean for language?
ways to use your brain:
-Listen to a philosophy podcast while walking
-Rewatch a childhood movie and analyze it in an essay
-Learn a new word and use it in a sentence
-Write a letter to someone (or yourself)
-Memorize a poem
-Learn the capitals of every country
-Go to the Library
-Pick a side in a debate—then argue the opposite
-Rewrite a fairytale from a
... See moreCuriosity is the truth and the way of creative living.
Elizabeth Gilbert • Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
The brain starts defaulting to easier modes: autopilot, mindless scrolling, zoning out. Not necessarily because we’re weak or lazy; our neural pathways are simply adapting to what we repeat the most.
yana yuhai • How to Pay Attention Again
-learn something that fascinates you
Pick a topic, anything. Become obsessed. Not to be graded or read. Not to get ahead. Just for the thrill of it. Write a thesis, do the research, produce the paper. Watch lectures. Take notes. Make PowerPoints no one will ever see. Make homework for yourself, like you used to. Give yourself a deadline in one... See more
Pick a topic, anything. Become obsessed. Not to be graded or read. Not to get ahead. Just for the thrill of it. Write a thesis, do the research, produce the paper. Watch lectures. Take notes. Make PowerPoints no one will ever see. Make homework for yourself, like you used to. Give yourself a deadline in one... See more
Kylee • Unrot Your Brain
Attention has become a currency. Every platform, ad, and algorithm is designed to compete for it. Not just to catch our eye, but to keep it. And they’re really, really good at it.
This loss of agency over our own attention that many of us are experiencing is not about willpower. It’s about neuroscience:
This loss of agency over our own attention that many of us are experiencing is not about willpower. It’s about neuroscience:
yana yuhai • How to Pay Attention Again
However, high stimulation over time leads to desensitization. The more novelty you consume (think how much content you consume in just 5 mins of doomscrolling), the more you need to feel engaged. Everything else (reading a book, sitting still, writing an email) starts to feel slow, boring, uncomfortable even.
yana yuhai • How to Pay Attention Again
If I care about self-realization, fulfilment, and joy, which I do above almost anything else, then I cannot reasonably sit back and do nothing as my attention is in someone else’s hands more than it is in mine.