š§µ View Thread
š§µ Thread (17 tweets)
Been reflecting on this for some time, this idea that the web destroys peopleās ability to focus on something like reading a book. Sometimes I suspect people have it sort of backwards. Focusing on a single self-contained experience to me is sometimes kind of like eating baby food https://t.co/69AqVk4Vwr
@_jordan_bates š¤ How do you read books other than one word at a time? I think the difference is that books are discrete linear packages, while the web is continuous & omni-directional. Focus is a function of frame; books are pre-framed; operating in the web necessitates holding your own frame
I used to read books *voraciously* as a kid, so I donāt have any guilt or anxiety about my ability to do that. I was a goddamn book junkie (And maybe this is an important caveat; maybe people who never managed to finish a thick book might need a different perspective. Maybe)
So hereās how I think I think about it: a book is a sort of prosthetic. A book is a frame, put together by an author and her support team, a specific window, a specific lens, a particular way of seeing. The book is FOCUSING *FOR* YOU. Am I making sense? https://t.co/YJEjlgDuQr
As I get older and my mind-palace gets larger and more comprehensive (with other peopleās ideas) I get less & less casually-randomly interested in books written by other people. I am currently most intrigued by the books that exist only in my imagination; thatās my primary focus https://t.co/dvM0erUUhp
This will change, of course. Once I have published some work I will be fascinated by the worldās response to it, and all the ways in which the two interface. I digress. Thereās still something about contemporary guilt re: āmuh attention spanā that strikes me as odd and misplaced
The Qn I have is: what is attention *for*? I agree that there are all sorts of things that exist in the world entirely to hijack your attention with lurid BS. But IMO the way to deal with that isnāt to develop the ability to focus on arbitrary things, but to find your curiosity https://t.co/Z2oskYL3oz
If you donāt know what you want but you find yourself beating yourself up over your supposedly limited attention span, I think this may actually be a sort of capitalistic self-flagellation; whipping yourself in shame for not paying attention to The Teacher, The Boss
But the reason The Teacher and The Boss have to bark āFocus! Pay attention!ā is because they know in their heart of hearts that theyāre not interesting. There is SOME utility to learning from general-arbitrary-pain but life is gonna throw you some specific-to-you pain *anyway* https://t.co/dADe95NWcX
This perspective that Iām presenting here is not comprehensive, it doesnāt apply in all scenarios. But I feel like itās underrepresented. Not enough people stop to ask wtf weāre really beating ourselves up for. The energy you free up with that can be spent cultivating taste https://t.co/3onNJIw36r
Earlier on I made a little digression here. Some people would see this as a weakness. But I think itās interesting. It came out of me by itself when I was āfocusedā on something else. Which suggests to me that itās likelier-than-average to be interesting https://t.co/t7ATltv1jo
This will change, of course. Once I have published some work I will be fascinated by the worldās response to it, and all the ways in which the two interface. I digress. Thereās still something about contemporary guilt re: āmuh attention spanā that strikes me as odd and misplaced
You know how some people say āoh Iām so random haha I like a bit of everythingā? Itās 99% bullshit. I was sort of like that. Except I wrote everything down. After about 500,000 words you realize you repeat yourself and run out of things to say. Random is a comforting illusion https://t.co/hFxYlEsc8F
I guess this is the point where Iām reminded that maybe Iām not neurotypical and my perspective might not actually be something most people relate to. Lol. Donāt listen to me, listen to yourself. But donāt beat yourself up. But listen to yourself. Idk man itās your life š bye https://t.co/MzvgnZGH5U
Oh this is beautifully put https://t.co/yNetjpWYvG
'Self discipline' is a patch for being conflicted about what you want to do. Often, productive people are interpreted as 'having discipline': able to force themselves to do the work even when it's unpleasant. But creative productivity only ever works in *spite* of that.
This is a Big Mood https://t.co/sQPhuC3B6G
@visakanv Your style fascinates me. I feel like you are the curator/librarian guiding me through the shelves of your brain via twitter threads. I am gaining quit an appreciation for record keeping for the sake of mental clarity and honest reflection.
@visakanv I feel like this applies most to nonfiction readers. Iāve rarely been able to get through a nonfiction book, I almost always end up feeling like it be two or three shorter essays. But since I āsucceededā at twitter and have constant interaction here I canāt read fiction much.