Unplugging makes a big difference. I think what the author is going through is the brains ability to adjust to it's environment. It's not dissimilar to being i

Unplugging makes a big difference. I think what the author is going through is the brains ability to adjust to it's environment. It's not dissimilar to being in an active social setting for a period. The brain reworks itself for better smalltalk, extroversion, glib remarks... when you find yourself suddenly alone, there are pangs of loneliness until you accept the downtime. Longer & deeper thoughts are possible after the adjustment. This even happens more quickly to us nightowls. You essentially rent out your brain during the day (for social reasons, empathy, etc) but when night arrives (and you're alone), the brain is free for your own thoughts. Funny thing about the easy access to information making us dumber. I see parallels here to the handheld calculator. When I was in school, decades ago... I refused to use a handheld calculator even though they were allowed for math calculations. Not really sure if it made any difference in the middle to longterm...