Category: Book Club
Hire Smart People—Then Distract Them into Mediocrity
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For years now multitasking has been one of the “key” elements on many job descriptions. It’s often seen as the only way someone can get by in today’s frenetic world, with so many notifications, emails, and other interruptions coming our way. Even outside of the things that push their way into our attentional space, we
Reading Against the Scroll – Reflections on The Siren’s Call
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This is the monthly wrap-up of book club get it, along with all the posts for the month, in your inbox for free by clicking that link. Next month I’ve got a busy month of travel so we’re reading a shorter book, The Burnout Society (Amazon). Early in The Siren’s Call Chris Hayes, makes a
The Attention Arms Race – When AI Both Protects and Pollutes
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You go to Google to screen out irrelevant information and to reliably focus on the output of Googles information processing system. This gives Google exclusive access to the most precious resource, which is your attention. And since they have your attention, they can sell your attention to interested parties. – The Sirens’ Call – Chris
From Billboards to Big Tech: When Will We Draw the Line on Attention Theft?
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In Paris at the turn of the twentieth century, commercial artists began putting up posters around the city advertising venues and shows and the like. It was so effective that soon posters were covering every surface of the city, leading to a concerted push by Parisians to regulate and rein in what had become visual
The Siren Caught Me Scrolling
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This is our first look at Siren’s Call by Chris Hayes, and it’s a bit of a confession from me. Hayes hit me pretty hard by page 4 when he equated the world around us, particularly the online platforms, to the Sirens from the Greek myth of Odysseus. Online platforms called to me via Facebook,
The Courage to Rethink – Lessons from Think Again
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This is our final look at Think Again. Next month we’re reading The Siren’s Call which is all about attention. If you’re not signed up to get the book club emails in your inbox, it’s free. Subscribers get a weekly post about the book for the month. I first read Think Again in 2022 and
Binary Bias, Cancel Culture, and the Death of Nuance
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We like easy answers. Is it good or is it bad? Will I get cancelled for a view, or is it the one that helps me conform to society at large? If you’ve got kids, telling them yes or no is far easier that trying to give them a nuanced answer appropriate to their age
When Status Slips and Rage Rises – The Roots of Polarization
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The news slams into us every day—another hate crime, another community torn apart, another reminder that the center isn’t holding. As racism resurges and social trust frays, it’s no wonder people seek refuge in polarised worldviews. In our second look at Think Again we’ll examine the issues with society that I see leading people towards
Second Opinions and Self-Deception
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We’re swift to recognize when other people need to think again. We question the judgement of experts whenever we seek out a second opinion on a medical diagnosis. Unfortunately, when it comes to our knowledge and opinions, we often favor feeling right over being right. In everyday life, we make diagnoses of our own, ranging