4 ms·

That article had lots of words, but did it actually give any useful advice on fixing your attention?

codingmess 7y ago
Unfortunately I seem to have the passed the point of no return: I can't focus long enough to read an article on how to learn to focus for longer times :-(
- user00012-ab 7y ago
  No, I think "writers" just write because they are paid to, so they use 10000 words instead of being precise and getting to the point. I wish people could just state their idea and be done, instead of padding it out to make it look more "official"
  - jonfw 7y ago
    One issue is that the vast majority of our writing education is intended to teach language skills more than it is to teach effective communication of ideas. You get points for writing with rhythm, provoking emotion, using interesting new words. Writing for sport and writing as a means to transmit an idea are very different practices. I took one class in technical communication in college which was radically different than any English/writing class I had taken before it. I had to throw out a lot of my academic writing habits and focus on brevity and clarity above all else.
  - npsimons 7y ago
    > No, I think "writers" just write because they are paid to, so they use 10000 words instead of being precise and getting to the point. There is validity to this - "brevity is the soul of wit." but some things need deep, long thought to properly comprehend. Combine this with the attention deficit that it is all but obvious modern media has pushed us towards, and I am willing to give the benefit of the doubt to some articles, particularly articles that address this problem. Edit: Upon gathering my attention and finishing my read of TFA, I concur with your analysis. I further postulate that it appears to be a teaser for the author's book.
- clarry 7y ago
  I guess the solution to that would be something like a funny cat video on how to learn to focus for longer times.
friendlybus 7y ago
Not really. Maybe the book does, but the article is pretty light on detail. It mentions 3 different types of attention, video games can increase attention and the gorilla experiment again. If you've been on HN for a while you've probably encountered those ideas before. I had Jordan Peterson nailed into my head that there is an infinite amount of facts in the world so your brain picks and chooses, and what you see is what you value. This stuff is of a similar vein with likely better detail in the book.

Unfortunately I seem to have the passed the point of no return: I can't focus long enough to read an article on how to learn to focus for longer times :-(

user00012-ab 7y ago
No, I think "writers" just write because they are paid to, so they use 10000 words instead of being precise and getting to the point. I wish people could just state their idea and be done, instead of padding it out to make it look more "official"
- jonfw 7y ago
  One issue is that the vast majority of our writing education is intended to teach language skills more than it is to teach effective communication of ideas. You get points for writing with rhythm, provoking emotion, using interesting new words. Writing for sport and writing as a means to transmit an idea are very different practices. I took one class in technical communication in college which was radically different than any English/writing class I had taken before it. I had to throw out a lot of my academic writing habits and focus on brevity and clarity above all else.
- npsimons 7y ago
  > No, I think "writers" just write because they are paid to, so they use 10000 words instead of being precise and getting to the point. There is validity to this - "brevity is the soul of wit." but some things need deep, long thought to properly comprehend. Combine this with the attention deficit that it is all but obvious modern media has pushed us towards, and I am willing to give the benefit of the doubt to some articles, particularly articles that address this problem. Edit: Upon gathering my attention and finishing my read of TFA, I concur with your analysis. I further postulate that it appears to be a teaser for the author's book.
clarry 7y ago
I guess the solution to that would be something like a funny cat video on how to learn to focus for longer times.

friendlybus 7y ago

Not really. Maybe the book does, but the article is pretty light on detail. It mentions 3 different types of attention, video games can increase attention and the gorilla experiment again. If you've been on HN for a while you've probably encountered those ideas before. I had Jordan Peterson nailed into my head that there is an infinite amount of facts in the world so your brain picks and chooses, and what you see is what you value. This stuff is of a similar vein with likely better detail in the book.