Too Much Information.
I quite often think that our human brains have not evolved to have all the information in the world beamed at us from a device not much bigger than a deck of cards.
The information overload is, I think, getting worse. There’s a huge amount of shoutiness, and urgency. TEACH YOURSELF AI. DO FORTY-SEVEN SOMATIC MOVEMENTS BEFORE BREAKFAST. FIX YOUR DEHYDRATED FASCIA.
I actually like looking at Instagram, because I love seeing corners of Scotland I do not know, and the lives of shepherdesses in the Peak District, and glimpses of Iceland. But the problem is that I no longer see the people I follow; I have to look at the people the algorithm elves send me, and they are shouting all the information. (I promise I shall never, ever do the information-shouting.) This morning, the shoutiness was so great I had to turn off the volume.
I think: do we all need to turn off the volume? In all senses of the word?
I’m working with two groups at the moment and I want to give them all the information I have because it has absolutely changed my life and I would not be without it. But I think, suddenly, I learned it all in a softer, gentler time. I started this voyage of discovery a little over ten years ago. It’s not that long ago, but even then everyone was not shouting and selling. And insisting.
So, how do we moderns find the information we need without overwhelming our poor brains? That is something I am thinking about a lot now. It is changing the ways I work. I used to think that all my clients needed huge daily essays so that they got their money’s worth. I thought of that for you. Surely the longer the better?
Now I think of the overload and I determine to keep it brief and focused. If I can give you one clean thing, then I’ve done my job.
It might be something I have learned. It might be a question or a challenge for you. Today’s challenge is: think about how much information is coming into your house. Think about how conscious you are about it. Are you choosing it? Do you need it? Is your brain thanking you for it?
And here’s another thought. Contemplate the kind and quality of information. At the moment I am listening, for the fourth time, to the Palliser Series read by Timothy West. That is a form of information, but it’s also deep pleasure and escapism. If I’m thinking about Lady Glencora then I am not thinking about the news. (The news is very bad, and contains in it all kinds of draining, demoralising and totally non-useful information.) The shouty person who wants me to learn AI before it is too late is not giving me information of any value or use. It is more likely to shrivel my soul.
Ask yourself the question, about the information. Remind yourself that you have agency, and you are in control.
It’s easy to forget that.
I love Tuesdays, because I find something from you in my inbox. Otherwise my inbox is full of things requiring my attention, because modern life and medicine seem to require constant communication. But I also spend far too many precious daylight hours simply deleting unwanted emails. It seems that no amount of deleting, blocking, unsubscribing, and occasionally responding with fury and loathing, is ever enough to stem the tide.
In my first 5 decades of life, my brain was a sponge soaking up every available bit of information on an ever increasing number of subjects, gleaned from books and professors and living in a variety of countries. I loved learning new stuff!
Home computers and the internet began the shift for me, because while Wikipedia is fantastic and world news in real time is a treat and email is a handy way to communicate, I found less and less time to think my own thoughts. I began to install filters in my brain sponge.
And then came the onslaught of social media, another double-edged sword. It has been wonderful to keep up with distant family and friends, and share photographs with people on the other side of the planet. And without social media I might never have found Tania and the Red Mare and the Place of Peace and so much more. But the sheer volume and insistence of people clamoring for attention is too much for my brain. So now I view my brain as a sieve surrounding an upgraded filter and a smaller sponge. There is an unending stream of new information pouring through, but the clever filter lets all the trash rush unimpeded through the sieve, while trapping just the interesting and worthwhile and true bits for my brain sponge to hold and keep.
This is a mental work in progress. I find that good sleep is an essential component, and hours spent outdoors with trees and animals is a huge help. Spring is coming, so I expect it to get easier. -
So true, Tania. A sweet friend of mine mentioned yesterday that she had seen a an interesting factoid of sorts regarding the vast amount of information we scroll through in a single day....phones, computers, TVs, etcetera - it is so much and so far reaching than anything Shakespeare himself would have written or uttered or read on his lifetime!