Comments on: The Attention Movement - Something’s Stirring http://maggie-jackson.com/blog/2009/09/15/the-attention-movement-somethings-stirring/ Just another WordPress weblog Sat, 31 Jul 2010 05:25:17 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: maggie http://maggie-jackson.com/blog/2009/09/15/the-attention-movement-somethings-stirring/#comment-178 maggie Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:50:20 +0000 http://maggie-jackson.com/blog/?p=23#comment-178 I am a fan of Talbott's work and write about my conversations with him in my book, Distracted. He's a great thinker whose work should be more widely known. We can only hope that conversations about technology in the U.S. begin to get past the "good vs bad" level, and into a more nuanced discussion of the impact of these devices on our lives. Thanks for your comment! I am a fan of Talbott’s work and write about my conversations with him in my book, Distracted. He’s a great thinker whose work should be more widely known. We can only hope that conversations about technology in the U.S. begin to get past the “good vs bad” level, and into a more nuanced discussion of the impact of these devices on our lives. Thanks for your comment!

]]> By: John Lynch http://maggie-jackson.com/blog/2009/09/15/the-attention-movement-somethings-stirring/#comment-177 John Lynch Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:20:08 +0000 http://maggie-jackson.com/blog/?p=23#comment-177 I wish the PBS site digital nation would take notice of Distracted and Steve Talbott's book "Devices of the Soul". It seems that they are whole heatedly jumping on the "technology is the answer" bandwagon, without much content being devoted to its negative aspects, especially in terms of learning. This isn't something I would have expected from PBS. I think the fact that more people aren't disturbed by the erosion of attention caused by technology is more disturbing than the erosion of attention itself. I wish the PBS site digital nation would take notice of Distracted and Steve Talbott’s book “Devices of the Soul”. It seems that they are whole heatedly jumping on the “technology is the answer” bandwagon, without much content being devoted to its negative aspects, especially in terms of learning. This isn’t something I would have expected from PBS. I think the fact that more people aren’t disturbed by the erosion of attention caused by technology is more disturbing than the erosion of attention itself.

]]> By: Steve Levinson, Ph.D. http://maggie-jackson.com/blog/2009/09/15/the-attention-movement-somethings-stirring/#comment-174 Steve Levinson, Ph.D. Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:15:28 +0000 http://maggie-jackson.com/blog/?p=23#comment-174 Making bad choices about how to focus our attention isn't the only problem. There's some leftover primitive "wiring" in the human brain that makes us far more distractible than we ideally should be. So, despite all we know about the value of undivided attention, it's hard for us to stay focused even when we decide that's exactly what we should do. A clinical psychologist, I've devoted much of my career to developing a way for people to achieve greater control over their attention so they can maximize their effectiveness. I developed a simple electronic tool called a MotivAider (http://habitchange.com) that automatically keeps its user's attention focused on any chosen objective. With their attention continuously focused on whatever they choose, users have been able to achieve a wide range of previously unattainable goals. Making bad choices about how to focus our attention isn’t the only problem. There’s some leftover primitive “wiring” in the human brain that makes us far more distractible than we ideally should be. So, despite all we know about the value of undivided attention, it’s hard for us to stay focused even when we decide that’s exactly what we should do.

A clinical psychologist, I’ve devoted much of my career to developing a way for people to achieve greater control over their attention so they can maximize their effectiveness. I developed a simple electronic tool called a MotivAider (http://habitchange.com) that automatically keeps its user’s attention focused on any chosen objective. With their attention continuously focused on whatever they choose, users have been able to achieve a wide range of previously unattainable goals.

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