I find it so ironic to be learning about theories of learning, wondering what is happening to me as I read and discuss and attempt to learn. Is the highway between my short- and long-term memories open for transit or is there a crash blocking the south-bound lanes? Can I say with any degree of confidence that “resistance is futile” and new information WILL be assimilated or will my internal framework have to make accommodations? And what’s up with the black box anyway?
Additional irony is that the subject of attention is what caught mine. This is particularly interesting to me because as I’ve grown older the ability to pay attention has grown weaker and I feel that damages my ability to learn. The inability to pay attention not only affects learning, but it has the potential to affect all aspects of life.
image courtesy Bill Watterson
Behavioral science writer Winifred Gallagher was recently a guest on KUER’s RadioWest. She was discussing her latest book Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life. She suggests that the ability to focus differs from person to person not unlike personality and intelligence. She agrees with Driscoll in that attention is a finite resource. Apparently we only have enough attention for 173 billion bits of information over our lifetime. I think I used up 63 billion just today. This notion of capacity confuses me some as Driscoll points out that long-term memory can never be filled up. Why can’t attention also be unlimited if our brain has the storage room?
The good news is that you can “work out” your voluntary attention, also referred to as top-down attention, in order to have more disciplined focus. This, in turn, helps not only our ability to learn, but the general state of our mental health and moves us beyond the superficial to a richer life full of meaning and strong relationships. The quote that really stood out for me comes from William James: “My experience is what I agree to attend to.” This is seemingly obvious, but so easily overlooked as the tedious and unimportant often steal our attention. Remember, we only have 173 billion bits to work with.
image courtesy Ikea
It probably comes as no surprise that Gallagher, along with many others, argues the ability to multitask is a fallacy, that in reality is much less efficient then staying on task for a longer period of time (she suggests 90 minutes is pretty good). She also touches on technology and points out it should be used as a tool and shouldn’t be allowed to “choose our target” or determine our behavior.
If you have time you might give the program a listen. That is if you can focus for 50 minutes, 32 seconds.
