for - new term - curiosity trap - When distractions take us out of the concentration and focusing zone

The pushing of the attention economy broadly prevents society from facing its most important problems. We're constantly distracted and are ultimately unable to focus on what is really important.

15:00 Before, we used to sit down with ourselves and process emotions. Now, we distract ourselves with technology.

This aligns with my findings on taking more breaks and doing nothing in these breaks. This lessens dopamine spikes and gives space to have productive thinking. It engages more so the default mode network of our brains.

Does information overload prevent us from using knowledge more effectively? Are we distracted by the mundane?

reply to u/Low-Appointment-2906 at https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/17pitv9/when_does_annotating_books_become_a_distraction/

Through the middle ages, bookmakers would not only leave significant margins for readers to annotate, but they also illuminated books and included drolleries which readers in the know would use in conjunction with the arts of memory (from rhetoric) to memorize portions of texts more easily. I strongly suspect this isn't what booktokkers are doing; their practice is likely more like the sorts of decorative #ProductivityPorn one sees in the Bullet journal and journaling spaces. It's performative content creation.

Those interested in refining their practices of "reading with a pen in hand", continuing the "great conversation" or having "conversations with their texts" might profitably start with Mortimer J. Adler's essay: “How to Mark a Book” (Saturday Review of Literature, July 6, 1941). In his 1975 KCET series How to Read a Book, which was based on their book of the same name, Adler mentioned to Charles Van Doren that he would buy new copies of books so he could re-annotate them without being distracted by his older annotations.

Some have solved the problem of distracting annotations by interleaving their books so they've got lots of blank space to write their notes. It's a rarer practice now, but some publishers still print Bibles with blank pages every other page for this practice. Others put their annotations and notes into commonplace books or on index cards for their card index/zettelkasten.

As some have mentioned, friends and lovers through time have shared books with annotations as a way of sharing their thoughts. George Custer and his wife Elizabeth did this with Tennyson.

If you're interested in annotating digitally online, perhaps check out Hypothes.is where I've seen teachers and students using social annotation to read and make sense of books [example]. I've also seen groups of people use this tool for hosting online book groups/clubs.

If you're in it for fun, you might appreciate:

• https://archaeologyofreading.org/
• https://booktraces-public.lib.virginia.edu/
• My digital annotations on annotation

And those wishing to delve more deeply into the history and power of annotation might look at: Kalir, Remi H., and Antero Garcia. Annotation. The MIT Press Essential Knowledge Series. MIT Press, 2019. https://mitpressonpubpub.mitpress.mit.edu/annotation.

Good luck annotating! 📝

The importance of handwriting is becoming better understood

Nothing new here; just spitting out @Mueller2014 with minor commentary and no concrete evidence or details beyond that.

1) the point that multitasking can offer different experiences with texts and tasks is interesting to me. initially, the comparison between multitasking and single-tasking seems like a clear distinction between what is beneficial (focus) and what is detrimental (distraction)

2) taking a bold stance, i would venture to say that there exists a significant number of individuals who engage in deep work, which is perhaps one of the most profound pursuits throughout human history. after all, most of us have experienced a state of flow at least once, to some extent, and our brains subconsciously crave this state of heightened focus and productivity

3) this observation all the more underscores the rarity of deep work in a world that is perpetually plagued by distractions

here is one of my notes from deep work by cal newport:

the connection between depth and meaning in human experience is undeniable. whether approached from the perspectives of neuroscience, psychology, or philosophy, there appears to be a profound correlation between engaging in deep, meaningful activities and a sense of fulfillment. this suggests that our species may have evolved to thrive in the realm of deep work and purposeful engagement

https://vimeo.com/420319231?embedded=true&source=vimeo_logo&owner=8885398

The "sterile cockpit rule" was instituted by the FAA in 1981 as a solution to cut down on the high proportion of airborne accidents during take-off and landing. The rule forbids pilots from engaging in any conversations unrelated to the flight of the plane, which has the effect of removing any distracting stimuli which may otherwise cascade into an accident.

Distraction has been shown to be an issue with regard to digital note taking. Adding time limits to work has been shown to mitigate this form of problem.

https://x28newblog.wordpress.com/2019/12/11/inspiring-or-distracting/

<small><cite class='h-cite via'>ᔥ <span class='p-author h-card'> Matthias Melcher

<small><cite class='h-cite via'>ᔥ <span class='p-author h-card'> Matthias Melcher </span> in Matthias Melcher on Twitter: "@ChrisAldrich I agree. The simple zettelkasten is a TOOL for thought, but many people want a prosthesis for thought. See https://t.co/N9lDSM7guD" / Twitter (<time class='dt-published'>02/05/2022 15:27:06</time>)</cite></small>

Given the diversions of modern digital life, perhaps the best way to do one's writing is to do it at the moment of reading the actual references. Often while reading, one isn't as apt to have their attention diverted by the vagaries of life, instead they are focused on the thing at hand. It is while one has this focused attention that they should let their note taking practice while reading take over.

Even if you are distracted, you can at least maintain focus on a single line of text and your thoughts related to it and write them down in either a summary sentence or with a few related ideas which are sparked by the initial idea.

(This note is such an example.)

Then one can start and complete a small idea at a time and then letting them build over time and space, then recollect them to create a piece which then doesn't need to be written and painfully created, but which may only need an outline structure and some final polish and editing.

This feels related to some of the potential power of sketchnotes.

I'd like the reference to this particular research though.

This is exactly what I complain about most days of my life. In fact, I now have to stop what I'm doing, which is what I want to be doing -- reading this article and making notes, because I've got to walk the dogs and then come back and do more kitchen chores, while fielding angry taunts from my wife for not making enough of an effort to feed our autistic son, who eats fuck all no matter what I put in front of him. Where's my fucking chef?