A review by edders
The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World by Adam Gazzaley, Larry D. Rosen
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.