I think a problem with Bush’s theory is that we all think differently. I also think that this complements the Carr reading.

Something Carr is passionate about saying is that once you start reading things on the computer, you get a short attention span, but what he doesn’t address is if there is a way to go back. For example, if you started to only read hard copies of things, could our attention span go back? Like, I am no scientist, but I would say that there are ways to train your brain to focus.

Something that I am very passionate about is mindfulness and positive psychology. Because my minor is consciousness and transformation, I have read some of the research about training your brain and the benefits of mindfulness. Therefore, I feel that you can change your brain to go back, because of the research done that proves that mindfulness changes your brain and creates new nurological pathways. Obviously this takes time and years of mindful practices, but I think it is important to note.

I feel like it is easier to shorten our attention span because we spend so much time on the computer and we end up being on zombie or autopilot mode throughout our day, but that it is possible to undo what we have done to ourselves. If it can be done through mindfulness, I see no reason there aren’t aother ways to achieve that same goal.

I enjoyed the Socrates and Plato conversation a lot, actually. I was surprised by this because i’m not really into philosophy, but I liked talking about realism and idealism, and I especially liked the pictured of Taylor Swift on the slideshow during the lecture. 🙂

Socrates argument against literacy makes sense to me. I understand what he is saying when he says that we decline as a person if we rely on other people for information. I agree that we gain insight and knowledge from shared experiences. I feel that is where I learn best, from the social dynamic of ideas being shared. I do believe experience is the best teacher and I know for me personally, I learn better through dialogue and discussions and first hand experience rather than reading and listening.

Although, I can see why plato thinks the way he does. Plato was Socrates student, it makes sense why he believes passing knowledge down is the way to learn. I feel like these are still the two learning styles today. After graduation we have to make a choice. Are we going to continue our education into grad school and continue reading theories and research? or are we going to try and gain real life experience in our career field?

Plato was the father of idealism, and that is very respectable and I can respect other peoples views of that situation, but I am in no ways an idealist. Personally, I don’t think perfection exists. Perfection isn’t attainable, it’s not real. Perfection is a construct and I guess it’s nice to work towards being our best selves, but everyone makes mistakes and has flaws and is a whole human. Aside from me thinking Taylor Swift can do no wrong, I don’t really think idealism is my way of thinking.

I always think it’s bold when people say ALL millennials are a certain type of way. For instance, Carr basically makes the statement that technology has decreases out attention span. This is true for me because I do find that I cannot focus on things for long periods of time, but I don’t like that people generalize the assumptions to the younger generation. I feel like adults are the same way and have become just as absorbed into the speed and easy access to information as the youth.

I’m not denying that Carr is right when he says that there is a decline in the ability to pay attention, but I don’t think it’s as black and white as people like to make it to be. I know for me, it all depends on what i’m focusing on. I can spend long amounts of time focusing on something I care about, but have a tremendously hard time focusing on things I do not care about. But then I think of that the professor said in class about hard work always being hard. Engaging in a book today is probably just as hard as it was before we had access to all this technology.

I guess the question I raise is why does it matter? why does it matter how we gain information? I am a big fan of working smarter, not necessarily harder. Why does it matter if we look it up on sparknotes or read reviews rather than if we read the book? If we are both getting the same information, why does it matter how we go about it? I mean, I can see a downside to everything being so constant and quick, is that I don’t even realize that i’m scrolling on twitter until I remember that I was suppose to be reading or writing a paper. I am mindlessly doing things, which doesn’t necessarily sit right with me.

My life hasn’t ben the same since I enrolled in this class. Listening to music is especially painful. Realizing that most of the artists I listen to don’t actually have that much talent hurts me and the commercials competing for my attention isn’t cute. It’s loud, and obnoxious. I am not buying it.

I thought what you said about the commercials competing for your attention was really interesting because it wasn’t something I had ever really noticed before. I had my first conscious experience when I was watching The Fosters on the Freeform app and I noticed that one commercial inparticular played louder than the other five that played during the commercial break. These six commercials play on repeat like every 17 minutes in the show, probably to pay for the show, but one was particularly louder than the rest. While I watch the show I am usually doing something else, like cleaning or homework, but in this time in particular time I was crafting and even though I was aware and concious that the add got increasing louder on purpose and to expect it, I still looked up every time because it was noticeably louder and caught my attention.

I was getting frustrated with the advertisements because I was annoyed at how loud the commercial was. Like who did they think they were???? They aren’t that special. So basically, in conclusion, you have ruined music and television for me. Thank you.

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