What’s more, a single solution is a complex, multi-faceted beast. It may address multiple problems at once, but in varying degrees of success. For example, Google Search helps you do your homework, find a restaurant, catch up on the latest news, shop for a new summer jumper. It does not achieve these things equally well
The proper response to this situation, we’re often told today, is to render ourselves indistractible in the face of interruptions: to learn the secrets of “relentless focus”—usually involving meditation, web-blocking apps, expensive noise-canceling headphones, and more meditation—so as to win the attentional struggle once and for all. But this is a... See more
I want us to collectively raise the bar for what we expect from our digital experiences. Life isn't just a series of problems to be solved but moments to be lived. As we find ourselves spending more and more of our time in the digital world—especially now—we should expect that world to inspire, surprise, and dare I say, even challenge us. We are... See more
what if public libraries were open late every night and we could engage in public life there instead of having to choose between drinking at the bar and domestic isolation
Philosophers have been worrying about distraction at least since the time of the ancient Greeks, who saw it less as a matter of external interruptions and more as a question of character—a systematic inner failure to use one’s time on what one claimed to value the most. Their reason for treating distraction so seriously was straightforward, and... See more
It’s widely believed that 90-95% of the thoughts people experience are repeated thoughts from the previous day. And many of those repeated thoughts are unhealthy ones. I believe this repetition occurs when we become unaware of our attention’s whereabouts. When left unchecked, our attention gravitates towards the dark place in our mind where bad... See more