I tend to be a naturally introverted person. I wouldn't say I am anti-social, but I definitely don't have any problem being on my own. In fact, I enjoy it. In school the focus was always put on group work. In college especially we were always thrown into teams to prepare us for the "real world". We had to be able to effectively work in groups. Even so, I always did my homework by myself and I always studied on my own. Tram projects were enough group work for me.
Now I've been in the corporate working world for several years. I definitely see the value in working with other people; getting input and asking for a second opinions. From my experience my college curriculum over-emphasized how vital group work would be out here in the business. There isn't a daily emphasis on the team like I expected. However, there are still corporate norms that hinder individual productivity. I think I do my best work in isolation. Total privacy; an environment I can concentrate in without distraction. That is hard to come by when you sit in a cubicle and there are 3 other people within 6 feet of you.
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We are going to miss almost everything
My last post considered the fact that the Internet allows tons of content to be thrown at our faces contantly. Along those same lines, just consider the massive amount of content that is already out there, and how much more is created every single day. Consider the fact that 35 hours of content is uploaded to youtube every minute. Obviously nobody cares to watch every video on youtube, but it is a great example of the futility of trying to "keep up" with anything these days.
An article on NPR.com from April entitled The Sad, Beautiful Fact That We're All Going To Miss Almost Everything explores this idea.
Some of us try to make ourselves believe we are well-read, or contain extensive knowledge about the world around us. It is a delusion. It might be true that we have a slightly more well-rounded view than our average peer. But it would be impossible to consume, let alone retain, even a tiny fraction of the liturature and art the world has created just since your birth. You can try to keep up with genres of information you are interested in, but even then you are fighting a losing battle. That doesn't mean we should stop, it just means we should stop pretending that any of us know anything.
I'm sure you all have friends that say things like "You need to watch The Wire.", "You need to read the Dark Tower series.", or "You need to go through Kubrick's filmography." Even keeping up with these personally recomended lists is a daunting task. I'd love to read all the literary classics, but it might have to wait until I retire. There just isn't enough time to be smart. I have a difficult enough time keeping up with the pop culture that society is jamming down our throats every day.
An article on NPR.com from April entitled The Sad, Beautiful Fact That We're All Going To Miss Almost Everything explores this idea.
It is the recognition that well-read is not a destination; there is nowhere to get to, and if you assume there is somewhere to get to, you'd have to live a thousand years to even think about getting there, and by the time you got there, there would be a thousand years to catch up on."
Some of us try to make ourselves believe we are well-read, or contain extensive knowledge about the world around us. It is a delusion. It might be true that we have a slightly more well-rounded view than our average peer. But it would be impossible to consume, let alone retain, even a tiny fraction of the liturature and art the world has created just since your birth. You can try to keep up with genres of information you are interested in, but even then you are fighting a losing battle. That doesn't mean we should stop, it just means we should stop pretending that any of us know anything.
I'm sure you all have friends that say things like "You need to watch The Wire.", "You need to read the Dark Tower series.", or "You need to go through Kubrick's filmography." Even keeping up with these personally recomended lists is a daunting task. I'd love to read all the literary classics, but it might have to wait until I retire. There just isn't enough time to be smart. I have a difficult enough time keeping up with the pop culture that society is jamming down our throats every day.
Reading the Internet
Over the last few years I've had this growing sense that I can never totally focus on anything. I can't describe it very well. To a certain extent I experience this at work. I'll try to get something done and the phone will ring or the email icon will pop up. However, most of the time I am able to force myself to buckle down and concentrate. Work is one thing, but I'm talking more about my personal time.
There is nothing forcing me to concentrate on a single task during my free time so I cannot do it. I can't just sit and read a book anymore. I spend my time trying to keep up with my twitter feed, or skimming internet headlines from the day. I can't even seem to sit down and watch a 2 hour movie without my iPhone in hand. It is as if the way by brain consumes and processes information has changed. I've felt this way for a while, but haven't been able to put my finger on it. Then I read this great article by Nicholas Carr called Is Google Making Us Stupid. It does pretty decent job at making sense of the feeling I had.
There is nothing forcing me to concentrate on a single task during my free time so I cannot do it. I can't just sit and read a book anymore. I spend my time trying to keep up with my twitter feed, or skimming internet headlines from the day. I can't even seem to sit down and watch a 2 hour movie without my iPhone in hand. It is as if the way by brain consumes and processes information has changed. I've felt this way for a while, but haven't been able to put my finger on it. Then I read this great article by Nicholas Carr called Is Google Making Us Stupid. It does pretty decent job at making sense of the feeling I had.
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