4 ms·

Well, I'm not sure who forgot COVID, but elements of this are absolutely true. I've been reading The Count of Monte Cristo—a 1200 pages unabridged, clothbound

Well, I'm not sure who forgot COVID, but elements of this are absolutely true. I've been reading The Count of Monte Cristo—a 1200 pages unabridged, clothbound edition that will spend 40 pages of wandering setup just to deliver one striking image. It was a banger in it's time, and it's still a banger, but it's striking how much it asked of its readers. It will take me the rest of the year to finish. And this is the thing, we really do live in a toxic attention ecosystem that rots our brains. Like the author, I've been trying to reassert control my own attention, and it's shockingly hard to do. I'm not sure if I'll manage to make it work. But let's suppose I do: I've deleted all social media, deliberately set my relationship with news, if I feel the urge to post dump it in a paper notebook instead, and somehow achieve the miracle of getting slack to chill out... ... much like learning to cook is great for me but doesn't solve the social costs from widespread ultraprocessed diets and resulting metabolic disorders, getting my own attentive house in order does not change the global brainrot and toxic political incentives. If anyone has found a way to turn that tide, I'm all ears.

bob1029 1y ago
> If anyone has found a way to turn that tide, I'm all ears. Leading by example might not seem like it has immediate or direct impact, but it does have an effect nevertheless. You don't necessarily need to beat everyone over the head with a new way to live life. This tends to have the opposite of the desired effect. If others passively observe you and think "wow that person looks super healthy and happy" they may subconsciously seek to emulate your behavior.
- disqard 1y ago
  I've heard this before, expressed as: "don't be a buddhist, be a Buddha".
TimorousBestie 1y ago
> Well, I'm not sure who forgot COVID, but elements of this are absolutely true. That it happened, perhaps not, but some of the details are definitely getting lost in the collective memory. The other day I heard a political commentator claim that lockdowns in the states were in place for “years”, which is false by any objective measure.
- jjulius 1y ago
  Was that a result of details being lost in memory, or moreso just a political commentator hyperbolically stretching the truth for some kind of, perhaps biased, political hot take?
  - TimorousBestie 1y ago
    True, it could have been. But they seemed sincere and IIRC self-identified as centrist. I guess neither of those things is conclusive evidence either way. Bleh.
- Izkata 1y ago
  They lasted a year and a half or so on and off in Chicago. Maybe two, I forget exactly when the last one ended. So only a little exaggeration.
  - tatersolid 1y ago
    Wasn’t it really only the Chicago Public Schools that were closed for so long? As I recall most everything else sort of opened in some capacity within a year, even sporting events and concerts.
tim333 1y ago
>we really do live in a toxic attention ecosystem that rots our brains Well it can be like that if you spend your time scrolling stupid stuff on tiktok but for learning about the world, if you want to, I think it's better than it used to be. "40 pages of wandering setup" doesn't make you smart, it wastes your time you could be using to learn something more interesting.
- dominicq 1y ago
  It's fiction. You don't go to a classical music concert and dislike/complain that it takes too long to get to the "good" part. The author is taking you for an experience, and if it takes 40 pages of setup, then that's the type of experience the author intended. Not saying you should stick with books that are boring, and you no longer want that experience, but stating that 40 pages of setup is a waste of one's time is a very strange thing. It's like one guy I know who watches movies (not podcasts, cinema) on 2x "not to waste time". I think it all comes from the same obsession with productivity which ultimately is as sick as the dwindling attention span mentioned in the linked article.

bob1029 1y ago

> If anyone has found a way to turn that tide, I'm all ears. Leading by example might not seem like it has immediate or direct impact, but it does have an effect nevertheless. You don't necessarily need to beat everyone over the head with a new way to live life. This tends to have the opposite of the desired effect. If others passively observe you and think "wow that person looks super healthy and happy" they may subconsciously seek to emulate your behavior.

disqard 1y ago
I've heard this before, expressed as: "don't be a buddhist, be a Buddha".

TimorousBestie 1y ago

> Well, I'm not sure who forgot COVID, but elements of this are absolutely true. That it happened, perhaps not, but some of the details are definitely getting lost in the collective memory. The other day I heard a political commentator claim that lockdowns in the states were in place for “years”, which is false by any objective measure.

jjulius 1y ago
Was that a result of details being lost in memory, or moreso just a political commentator hyperbolically stretching the truth for some kind of, perhaps biased, political hot take?
- TimorousBestie 1y ago
  True, it could have been. But they seemed sincere and IIRC self-identified as centrist. I guess neither of those things is conclusive evidence either way. Bleh.
Izkata 1y ago
They lasted a year and a half or so on and off in Chicago. Maybe two, I forget exactly when the last one ended. So only a little exaggeration.
- tatersolid 1y ago
  Wasn’t it really only the Chicago Public Schools that were closed for so long? As I recall most everything else sort of opened in some capacity within a year, even sporting events and concerts.

tim333 1y ago

>we really do live in a toxic attention ecosystem that rots our brains Well it can be like that if you spend your time scrolling stupid stuff on tiktok but for learning about the world, if you want to, I think it's better than it used to be. "40 pages of wandering setup" doesn't make you smart, it wastes your time you could be using to learn something more interesting.

dominicq 1y ago
It's fiction. You don't go to a classical music concert and dislike/complain that it takes too long to get to the "good" part. The author is taking you for an experience, and if it takes 40 pages of setup, then that's the type of experience the author intended. Not saying you should stick with books that are boring, and you no longer want that experience, but stating that 40 pages of setup is a waste of one's time is a very strange thing. It's like one guy I know who watches movies (not podcasts, cinema) on 2x "not to waste time". I think it all comes from the same obsession with productivity which ultimately is as sick as the dwindling attention span mentioned in the linked article.