Reviews
Mintea distrată. Creiere vechi într-o lume puternic tehnologizată by Adam Gazzaley, Larry D. Rosen
victorfrank's review against another edition
5.0
Have you noticed how many people are looking at their smartphones while walking, crossing the street or even driving? Does it drive you up the wall that your friends keep checking their phones while you're trying to talk to them or share a meal? Our addiction to gadgets and gizmos has brought us to the brink of an attention crisis, which is not just harmful but dangerous. 80% of all car accidents and 16% of highway deaths result from distracted driving, and every year texting while driving kills thousands of folks before their time. In addition, hundreds of billions of dollars in productivity are lost annually to distraction, not to mention the loss in overall quality of life. Why do we all do this even though we know it's terrible for us? And is there a cure?
Goal interruption is the ultimate problem, and the culprits are distractions and interruptions (there's a difference!). According to Drs Gazzaley and Rosen, we are susceptible to them because we still have brains designed for foraging, always scoping the environment for novel information to enhance survival. Unfortunately, modern gizmos plug directly into this foraging circuit, making us go "Squirrel!" even when it's just a picture of one on a screen, and we don't really eat squirrels anymore anyway.
Gazzaley and Rosen -- a neuroscientist and psychologist, respectively -- make a strong case that distraction is indeed diminishing the quality of our lives in significant ways. They lay out the science of attention and information processing in a way that is thorough yet accessible to a general audience. What I particularly like about this book is that they themselves have done some of the pioneering research on distraction and attention, so you're getting it straight from the source. I gained a lot of insight into how goal interruption happens. For example:
-- Suppressing irrelevant information is not a passive process. It requires effort, and as you get older, you get worse at it, and are more distractable.
-- Your brain can only handle one cognitive task at a time, so multitasking is impossible. What you're really doing when you think you're multitasking is 'task switching', and the brain can only do that via network switching: activating a whole different set of circuits. This slows you down, big time.
So we've identified the problem -- now what? The last two chapters of the book propose some solutions: educational initiatives, meditation, exercise, brain games, and video games, some of which (like Beepseeker and NeuroRacer) are being developed in the Gazzaley Lab right now. This is cutting-edge stuff, folks, and potentially revolutionary.
There's so much more in the book that simply won't fit in a short review. For me, the information was especially important because I've been feeling a lot of my energy and productivity frittering away from distractions like email and social media. How much more could I get done if I managed my mind better? "The Distracted Mind" non-judgmentally frames the problem as the urgent crisis that it is, while proffering some straightforward solutions. Maybe you, too, would like to take back some of your time and attention, or have a loved one that really needs help in this department. If so, this book is the persuasive wallop you need to make the change towards a more goal-oriented, productive, healthy life.
Goal interruption is the ultimate problem, and the culprits are distractions and interruptions (there's a difference!). According to Drs Gazzaley and Rosen, we are susceptible to them because we still have brains designed for foraging, always scoping the environment for novel information to enhance survival. Unfortunately, modern gizmos plug directly into this foraging circuit, making us go "Squirrel!" even when it's just a picture of one on a screen, and we don't really eat squirrels anymore anyway.
Gazzaley and Rosen -- a neuroscientist and psychologist, respectively -- make a strong case that distraction is indeed diminishing the quality of our lives in significant ways. They lay out the science of attention and information processing in a way that is thorough yet accessible to a general audience. What I particularly like about this book is that they themselves have done some of the pioneering research on distraction and attention, so you're getting it straight from the source. I gained a lot of insight into how goal interruption happens. For example:
-- Suppressing irrelevant information is not a passive process. It requires effort, and as you get older, you get worse at it, and are more distractable.
-- Your brain can only handle one cognitive task at a time, so multitasking is impossible. What you're really doing when you think you're multitasking is 'task switching', and the brain can only do that via network switching: activating a whole different set of circuits. This slows you down, big time.
So we've identified the problem -- now what? The last two chapters of the book propose some solutions: educational initiatives, meditation, exercise, brain games, and video games, some of which (like Beepseeker and NeuroRacer) are being developed in the Gazzaley Lab right now. This is cutting-edge stuff, folks, and potentially revolutionary.
There's so much more in the book that simply won't fit in a short review. For me, the information was especially important because I've been feeling a lot of my energy and productivity frittering away from distractions like email and social media. How much more could I get done if I managed my mind better? "The Distracted Mind" non-judgmentally frames the problem as the urgent crisis that it is, while proffering some straightforward solutions. Maybe you, too, would like to take back some of your time and attention, or have a loved one that really needs help in this department. If so, this book is the persuasive wallop you need to make the change towards a more goal-oriented, productive, healthy life.
mickpaolino's review against another edition
5.0
Ottimo saggio sul funzionamento del cervello per quanto concerne l’attenzione, la memoria e la gestione degli obiettivi. Molto chiaro e pieno zeppo di spunti per approfondire le tesi.
nickvu's review against another edition
4.0
We forage for information (stimulation?) the way animals and our ancestors forage for food. As the resource becomes ubiquitous, it changes the way our minds operate, often to the detriment of task completion, goals, and overall well-being.
jakemcc's review against another edition
4.0
Probably unfortunately for this review, I read the first part and then set it down as I got distracted by other books. I finally picked it back up and finished the second two parts.
A fair number of books I've read deal with related topics. How does the modern world affect our ability to focus and interactions with others? How can we focus on tasks better?
The book presents information on how distractions affect us. It adapts the marginal value theorem (MVT) model to explain why we task switch so frequently and to present strategies for increasing the time spent on tasks.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. If you've read other books on similar topics, there will be some repeated themes. Even if you haven't, this book might seem repetitive.
This isn't a thrilling page turner. It doesn't pull the reader through the material like some other pop-science books. I still enjoyed it.
A fair number of books I've read deal with related topics. How does the modern world affect our ability to focus and interactions with others? How can we focus on tasks better?
The book presents information on how distractions affect us. It adapts the marginal value theorem (MVT) model to explain why we task switch so frequently and to present strategies for increasing the time spent on tasks.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. If you've read other books on similar topics, there will be some repeated themes. Even if you haven't, this book might seem repetitive.
This isn't a thrilling page turner. It doesn't pull the reader through the material like some other pop-science books. I still enjoyed it.
allthatbrazz's review against another edition
3.0
An informative, yet dull read.
I enjoyed the real science as opposed to the observational "proof" provided by other articles aklets. I didn't learn all that many practical tips, but understanding how my brain responds to digital distractions is helpful.
I enjoyed the real science as opposed to the observational "proof" provided by other articles aklets. I didn't learn all that many practical tips, but understanding how my brain responds to digital distractions is helpful.
edders's review against another edition
3.0
This book is really not the best written - and is especially trying at the very start. Perhaps you get used to their style as the book progresses... if you have the persistence.
The first section - exploring the cognitive psychology of attention and goal-oriented behaviour - is the worst written. The combination of jargon and stilted examples gets in the way of enjoying the content of the argument, or appreciating the evidence being stacked up piece by piece. The authors do eventually make a reasonably convincing argument that goal-oriented behaviour is a quintessentially human behaviour, and that attention is the key to achieving goals. But it is a long stilted path to get there!
The second and third sections were easier to handle, dealing with social and technological factors in distraction and finally in potential ways to reduce this. They are interesting, but overall it feels like this book needed a more conversational editor. This feels part-way between textbook and a non-fiction classic.
Unfortunately it is also guilty of my #1 pet peeve for non-fiction: constantly referring to the title. I do not want to hear the authors say 'Distracted Mind' (capitalised every time!?) three times each chapter. Yes, I remember what the title of your book was, and no, it's not a normal phrase so it didn't just slip into the galley proof. I wish people didn't do this!
Style needs something, otherwise not too bad and interesting regardless. Not recommended to many.
The first section - exploring the cognitive psychology of attention and goal-oriented behaviour - is the worst written. The combination of jargon and stilted examples gets in the way of enjoying the content of the argument, or appreciating the evidence being stacked up piece by piece. The authors do eventually make a reasonably convincing argument that goal-oriented behaviour is a quintessentially human behaviour, and that attention is the key to achieving goals. But it is a long stilted path to get there!
The second and third sections were easier to handle, dealing with social and technological factors in distraction and finally in potential ways to reduce this. They are interesting, but overall it feels like this book needed a more conversational editor. This feels part-way between textbook and a non-fiction classic.
Unfortunately it is also guilty of my #1 pet peeve for non-fiction: constantly referring to the title. I do not want to hear the authors say 'Distracted Mind' (capitalised every time!?) three times each chapter. Yes, I remember what the title of your book was, and no, it's not a normal phrase so it didn't just slip into the galley proof. I wish people didn't do this!
Style needs something, otherwise not too bad and interesting regardless. Not recommended to many.
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