Linkspam: classism and "digital detox"; comparative timelines

[firecat]

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/116618/technologys-mindfulness-racket
"the act of unplugging falls somewhere between wearing vintage clothes and consuming artisanal cheese"

http://waitbutwhy.com/2013/08/putting-time-in-perspective.html
"It's hard to picture how a microbe evolved into a fish—the answer is that 3 billion years is a lot of time to work with."

Comments

[thnidu]

Ah ha. Yes, I'm glad to see, on reading some way into the first article, that it's not an attack on the concept of mindfulness, as seemed to me from the title. Mindfulness is no joke for me (see icon), and mindfulness meditation is a key part of my trying to get ANYTHING done.

Contributed linkspam:
• Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn
• GetSomeHeadspace, the practice I am now using, recommended by my daughter. The podcast guided meditations offer a month's free trial. I signed up for a year after a week or two.

[firecat]

Thanks for the links. Mindfulness is a very useful tool for me too. (Love the icon.)
I really wish Kabat-Zinn's book had a different title.

[thnidu]

Yeah, well... I think it started with dealing with stress. He's got several more out now.

I've used the UPenn mindfulness program, which is based on his work.

[firecat]

When I read what he actually writes, I really like it.

[stardreamer]

The "mindfulness" article seems to be recommending something very similar to the approach I take to technology -- make IT work for YOU, rather than letting it make YOU work for IT. And I've been taking that approach since the first time I got an answering machine and started screening my phone calls.

[firecat]

Yep. I love that about answering machines. :)

[marahmarie]

I like the mindfulness article's take on how to solve the problem, or more specifically, what problem there is to solve: Silicon Alley trying to addict you so you can't/won't want to unplug from what it is they offer. Never thought of it that way before. So the appmakers of today are like the tobacco companies of...today. Interesting conclusion to draw.

(I don't know that they try on purpose with any app or offering to make addicts out of any or all of us, though. I'd have to think that one over. For that reason alone, I thank you for the link.)

[firecat]

Having worked in Silicon Alley for many years, my take on it is that they aren't necessarily trying to addict you, they just think what they're making is SO COOL that OF COURSE you are going to want to use it 24/7 and have it meddling in every part of your life.

[marahmarie]

True geeks don't see the possible harm in that, I guess. Fortunately (perhaps) my main online addiction is reading and reading alone; there's no app I need for that so I have no one to blame but myself for how the Internet's my personal form of crack.

[megpie71]

I loved that second one. By about halfway through, my brain was busy playing "The Galaxy Song" by Monty Python (from "The Meaning of Life"). The two things create a similar sense of perspective in my head (plus they lead to the same conclusion - "Pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space, because there's bugger-all down here on Earth").

(Still not going to donate my liver at this present, though).

[firecat]

I just watched that movie, so it was probably on my mind when I selected these links...