My idea of a bright idea usually involves someone making a fabulously unusual connection between two pieces of ordinary knowledge. Brain-storming or automatic writing is supposed to work by eliminating the natural barriers between ideas, the rule being that absolutely no editing or critiquing of ideas makes it possible for one idea to lead to the next, which prompts the next idea, etc.
The hyperlinked structure of the internet has that quality, though the word brilliance is not usually associated with the process of clicking on one link, then the next, then the next as we travel on and on hoping to meet the princes of Serendip. On the contrary, a good web-hop leaves the participant feeling drained and empty despite the fabulous ideas, images and stories he has encountered. Perhaps it’s because those ideas come so fast, a barrage of art, exhortations, news, organizational systems, inspirational stories telling us to get offline and lead a simple life … and then invite us to subscribe to a daily email newsletter so we can get daily instructions.
I think the topic is bigger than “information overload.” What exactly is that addictive quality of needing to know if someone has communicated with us in the thirty seconds that have elapsed since our last check? No one is surprised when an academic study of workplace behavior found that people who were assigned to limit email checking to twice a day were far less stressed and far more productive than employees allowed to check at will. We could all write one of those “10 habits of highly productive people articles.”
Even without email, the pull of electronics is astonishing. I’ve gone through Freecell, DaVinci’s Secret, Tetris, Myst, Siberia, even solitaire. Downtime I’ve heard it called, but I’m not sure that it is relaxing other than being a vacation from the constant decision-making, prioritizing and will to be productive that characterizes most daily life.
And even before games, there was TV, which at least allows for multi-tasking. I can, for example, knit to disguise the fact that my entire weekend will be devoted to binge watching 4400 or Lost or the Wire until way past my bedtime.
One thing leads to another. But sometimes bright ideas are excruciatingly simple and obvious (after someone has them).
I really didn’t want Liam to spend his childhood plugged into a screen. There was a computer game he had as a kindergartener that made him cry in frustration. I said, “if it’s going to make you cry, it’s not fun. And if it’s not fun, you can’t play.” I don’t recall how I organized things. A couple years after we moved to West Virginia, Liam’s father gave him a Play Box. (X-box, Game Box, X-cube? Getting the name wrong got such a pleasing rise out of my son that I deliberately mixed up the names, leading to the penalty of actually not knowing anymore.) I worried over gaming and TV watching. Maia came up with the brilliant rule of “one hour per day.” It was simple and straight-forward. It worked beautifully, though recently Maia told me that Liam used to dance around waiting for me to come home before playing. She asked him why and he told her that I was not as good at watching the clock for the start and stop of the hour as she was.
I think this is so pretty. I keep coming back to see it. Maybe being online isn't soothing very often, but I think my 365 time is, because I get to absorb so much beauty, and I take it slow and savor the shots which delight me. This is one of those.
You call it "automatic writing". I had not heard that. I prefer the term "free writing." :-) I have often poked around in my head trying to figure out why I get addicted to games like freecell, tetris, candy crush... I think that part of it is my brain pretending that it's actually working on some sort of problem solving. I don't remember reading before that you are into math and tutoring. Would love to chat about that sometime!
July 20th, 2015
Leave a Comment
Sign up for a free account or Sign in to post a comment.
