best artists and writers have always lived fully immersed in the civilisation or even try to outrun it, not (!) without friction, and trying to reject the modernity and escape it by performing some sort of monastic withdrawal instead of embracing it as it is with all its flaws, transgressions as well as gifts is a prerequisite of becoming a great artist, and well "a human" at large. everyone who's ever produced anything that we now consider requires deep reading were absolutely drowning in the noise of their moment, at least most of their lives
“Evolutionary mismatch” needs to be the word for the 21st century. The masses need to get on this concept because it’s at the root of half our problems.
agreed, and it appears the mismatches have only just begun. it is an interesting problem to have; do we halt technological innovation in order to get a better grip on our issues? Or does this mean we have to begin augmenting our minds/bodies to keep up? I’ve no clue
I went through this when I got into the gym and studying the biology. Everything from our food to our built environment is radically different from all the previous generations and it happened overnight. Keeping off weight was 10x easier when I lived in ATL taking public transport and walked everywhere. I loved it, but realized how much I had to slow down in relation to demands on me. And that’s how we lived the majority of history.
I think the important aspect of that shift was its thoughtlessness—obeisance to capital-fueled scientific progress. I think we simply need to be more conscientious about how we engage with the world. I suspect we’ll enter a phase where we minimize tech in our private lives while getting inundated as soon as we leave the house. But we’re also about to transition out of oil which will have a massive affect.
Perfectly written and explained. Information is everywhere and it comes with its pros and cons. Especially with the rise and even greater spread of misinformation.
The point about knowledge work exhausting the same faculty that reading requires is the one that doesn't get made enough. We used to rest our minds after physical labour. Now we're asking depleted minds to do the one thing that requires them to be fresh. As someone about to launch a serialised novel, I think about this constantly. You're asking readers to come back week after week. The least you can do is make the prose worth the energy it costs them.
The only people who don't feel this happening are those who don't spend much time on social media. Either they weaned themselves, or they were never into it in the first place. Both cases are like those twelve people in "Pluribus" who are immune to the virus.
best artists and writers have always lived fully immersed in the civilisation or even try to outrun it, not (!) without friction, and trying to reject the modernity and escape it by performing some sort of monastic withdrawal instead of embracing it as it is with all its flaws, transgressions as well as gifts is a prerequisite of becoming a great artist, and well "a human" at large. everyone who's ever produced anything that we now consider requires deep reading were absolutely drowning in the noise of their moment, at least most of their lives
What an essay. Something I’ve been struggling with these past couple years, too much media consumption. How do we get back?
Bring back the art of pondering (and not needing the google or ChatGPT every question that pops into your head)
“Evolutionary mismatch” needs to be the word for the 21st century. The masses need to get on this concept because it’s at the root of half our problems.
agreed, and it appears the mismatches have only just begun. it is an interesting problem to have; do we halt technological innovation in order to get a better grip on our issues? Or does this mean we have to begin augmenting our minds/bodies to keep up? I’ve no clue
I went through this when I got into the gym and studying the biology. Everything from our food to our built environment is radically different from all the previous generations and it happened overnight. Keeping off weight was 10x easier when I lived in ATL taking public transport and walked everywhere. I loved it, but realized how much I had to slow down in relation to demands on me. And that’s how we lived the majority of history.
I think the important aspect of that shift was its thoughtlessness—obeisance to capital-fueled scientific progress. I think we simply need to be more conscientious about how we engage with the world. I suspect we’ll enter a phase where we minimize tech in our private lives while getting inundated as soon as we leave the house. But we’re also about to transition out of oil which will have a massive affect.
I spent much of the morning considering this very idea, when into my box pops this lucid essay!
synchronicity!
Perfectly articulated the thoughts and feelings I’ve been having so long
Perfectly written and explained. Information is everywhere and it comes with its pros and cons. Especially with the rise and even greater spread of misinformation.
The point about knowledge work exhausting the same faculty that reading requires is the one that doesn't get made enough. We used to rest our minds after physical labour. Now we're asking depleted minds to do the one thing that requires them to be fresh. As someone about to launch a serialised novel, I think about this constantly. You're asking readers to come back week after week. The least you can do is make the prose worth the energy it costs them.
The only people who don't feel this happening are those who don't spend much time on social media. Either they weaned themselves, or they were never into it in the first place. Both cases are like those twelve people in "Pluribus" who are immune to the virus.