On: the web, A.D.D., multitasking, and general sillyness.
This is post is product of a topic that interests me deeply. Articles are being published on the topic frequently. The original post has been updated and the articles collected here.
- Is Google making us stupid from The Atlantic
- Technology Doesn’t Dumb Us Down. It Frees Our Minds from The New York Times
- In Defense of Distraction from NY Magazine
I believe that Attention Deficit Disorder is a figment of the plural imagination of drug companies and the authors of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) (which may or may not be deeply tied).
As a teenager I was diagnosed with A.D.D., and subsequently medicated, and I can’t say that I ever believed the disorder existed. In short I thought that, in my case, I was just in the wrong school with the wrong teachers, classmates and place. I proved my thesis when I left that school and transferred to one where there was more latitude I flourished and went from being a poor student to a very good one. Keep in mind that I was selecting the courses I wanted to take - the A.D.D effectively dissapeared.
As of late, and in tune with others, I have noticed that my attention span has decreased drastically. I have put down good, interesting books recently because of my dwindling attention span - I used to finish novels in a day. Sometimes it takes me hours to finish a 10 line email because I’m distracted by tasks that pop up, and my immediate space which is constantly, ringing, pinging, vibrating, and chiming for my attention reminding me of tasks that need to be completed.
David Allen’s Getting Things Done validates this modus operandi as it allows two minute tasks to get done as soon as they pop-up in a persons scope. Otherwise, it does allow for other items to be classified in a more discrete system of accountability.
I’m a big fan of trend watching. I once read somewhere, don’t remember where, that ideas are not unique, isolated spheres of thought that pop into a person’s head like a cartoon character, but movements that sweep humanity at once - I would argue the same applies for phenomenons. If you have a great idea, chances are that somebody else, at some point in the globe will be having a variation of your idea soon before/after the moment you had it. That being said, I tend to think that this is a trend and that people, very generally speaking, who are symbolic analysts suffer from this phenomenon of attention dispersion. Note: I found the 100th Monkey theory; it’s veracity is disputed but it’s a nice thought. In web app development I have experienced first hand almost identical conceptual products sprouting in different locations in the same timeframe.
In terms of interaction design this is an interesting subject to ponder. We are at right before the vertex of a movement that will provide us with a more punctual interaction with the hardware/software that surrounds us. At this moment people interact with different devices, each with its own form factor, each with its own collection of applications and software, each having its own unique user experience. We are drowning in articles, posts, feeds, events, messages that require time to process in order to determine if they are important or not. This takes up most of our time, in adittion to interacting with the machine, as a function of time/learning curve and other factors such as navigability. As nanotechnology moves forward, as the web becomes a more distributed service and communication platform (instead of a destination), as the services, tools and applications we use are embedded into smaller and smaller devices, and as we realize that we are wasting away in front of an LCD screen we will be able to recover our attention span because our interaction with machines will allow us to do that, more so, they will encourage us to do so. They will be architected to accomplish the taks of freeing us from our devices and the content we deem as irrelevant to us. The user experience will become a more homogeneous experience for better or worse.
Coworker, San José, Costa Rica.
Coworker is a site I found a few months ago, which I really liked. It’s a Google Maps mashup, if it can be called that, and it has placemarkers for spots with WiFi access. The coworking concept reaches further than that, to include shared office space, and resources to accomodate the many of us that travel with our portables to get work done.
The Coworking Wiki is a good example of how far the need has reached.
The idea of sharing office space, resources, and costs with other small firms is one that appeals to me, as the Principal of a small yet globally competitive web application development firm. In Costa Rica, this idea has not arrived, yet.
I wrote a short email to one of the original developers, Alper, in the Netherlands, got his approval, and it took me less than an hour to put it up. The time consuming task, and the one I hope to get community help with, will be to populate the spots that offer wi-fi (free or paid) to the roaming masses.
History recalls how great the fall can be
While everybodys sleeping, the boats put out to sea
Borne on the wings of time
It seemed the answers were so easy to find
Too late, the prophets cry
The islands sinking, lets take to the sky
Called the man a fool, striped him of his pride
Everyone was laughing up until the day he died
And though the wound went deep
Still hes calling us out of our sleep
My friends, were not alone
He waits in silence to lead us all home
So tell me that you find it hard to grow
Well I know, I know, I know
And you tell me that youve many seeds to sow
Well I know, I know, I know
Can you hear what Im saying
Can you see the parts that Im playing
Holy man, rocker man, come on queenie,
Joker man, spider man, blue eyed meanie
So you found your solution
What will be your last contribution?
Live it up, rip it up, why so lazy?
Give it out, dish it out, lets go crazy,
Yeah!
