Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and the Coming Dark Age Contributor(s): Jackson, Maggie (Author), McKibben, Bill (Foreword by) |
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ISBN: 1591026237 ISBN-13: 9781591026235 Publisher: Prometheus Books OUR PRICE: $23.39 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: June 2008 Annotation: Taking us beyond Blink and Faster, Jackson makes it clear that if we continue down this road of scattered attention spans and widespread societal ADD, we will be in danger of squandering and devaluing the essence of humanity, and our technological age could ultimately slip into cultural decline. |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Sociology - General - Social Science | Popular Culture - Psychology | Social Psychology |
Dewey: 306.097 |
LCCN: 2008016540 |
Physical Information: 0.94" H x 6.38" W x 8.98" (1.26 lbs) 327 pages |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: In this gripping expose of our cyber-centric, attention-deficient life, journalist Maggie Jackson argues that we are eroding our capacity for deep attention and mindfulness - the building blocks of intimacy, wisdom, and cultural progress. The implications for a healthy society are stark. Despite our wondrous technologies and scientific advances, we are nurturing a culture of diffusion and detachment. With our attention scattered among the beeps and pings of a push-button world, we are less and less able to pause, reflect, and deeply connect. In her sweeping quest to unravel the nature of attention and detail its losses, Jackson introduces us to scientists, cartographers, marketers, educators, wired teens, and even roboticists. She offers us a compelling wake-up call, an adventure story, and reasons for hope. As the author shows, neuroscience is just now decoding the workings of attention, with its three pillars of focus, awareness, and judgment, and revealing how these skills can be shaped and taught. This is exciting news for all of us living in an age of overload. Pull over, hit the pause button, and prepare for an eye-opening journey. More than ever, we cannot afford to let distraction become the marker of our time. |