Which relationship has taught you the most about yourself?
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My relationship to sensation.
PROMPT: Relationship
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Tag Archives: Attention
BOOK: “The Tao of Bill Murray” by Gavin Edwards
The Tao of Bill Murray: Real-Life Stories of Joy, Enlightenment, and Party Crashing by Gavin EdwardsMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Publisher site – Penguin Random House
This book lays out Bill Murray’s philosophy of life as revealed by his quirky, daring, and spontaneous approach to living. Much has been made of the influence of the mystic philosopher G.I. Gurdjieff on Murray’s thinking. This background is discussed a little in Edwards’ book, but mostly this is a book that uses anecdotes from Bill Murray’s life to make a case for a philosophy of life that involves spontaneity, generosity, service, and connection. (Furthermore, it’s not clear to what degree Gurdjieff influenced Murray’s thinking, versus Gurdjieff’s ideas appealing to Murray because of the way the comedic actor already experienced the world.)
The author organizes the book around what he calls “The Ten Principles of Bill,” a set of ideas that Edwards argues can be seen cutting across Murray’s working and non-working life (and most of the stories are from his interactions with everyday people in everyday [but often unexpected] settings, and not from Murray’s acting work.)
I found this book to be highly readable and illuminating. The stories are funny but also offer a distinct approach to experiencing the world. I’d highly recommend this book for those interested in living a more spontaneous and rewarding life, or just those who like Bill Murray.
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BOOK: “The Attention Merchants” by Tim Wu
The Attention Merchants: The Epic Scramble to Get Inside Our Heads by Tim WuMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Publisher Site — Penguin
This book explores the evolution of capturing attention for commercial purposes. It delves into the history of attention economics from the development of print ads to the pursuit of virality via the internet and social media. Wu outlines how different media (e.g. print, radio, television, cable tv, and the internet) learned different lessons about how to make advertising work given the unique nature of each platform. The book also offers insight into how advertising spawned a market for people’s personal consumer information as the internet era began to allow companies to target ads for maximum effect, rather than using the scattershot approach that was all that was available to radio and broadcast television.
I found this book to be informative and it’s a subject of which people should be aware. William James famously said, “…what we attend to is reality.” If James was right, our reality is being shaped by forces that often remain outside our awareness. If you are curious about the attention economy, this is a highly readable overview of the subject.
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PROMPT: Meme
I have meme-blindness. It’s like ad-blindness (which I also have) and is probably caused by the same state of mind. If you want my attention, pony up some dough or produce something worthwhile — vaguely clever regurgitation of pop culture references and cliched slang ain’t gonna cut it.
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PROMPT: Loyal Subscribers
I don’t know and I kind of hate the term “loyal” applied to commercial and / or attention capturing domains. There can’t be any reasonable expectation that someone who bought your product once (either in cash or attention) owes you their attention and / or dollars in the future. If the answer is anything else than do your best work EVERY. SINGLE. TIME, then I think we’ve jumped the shark as a species.
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Little Blue [Haiku]
from a gliding boat,
a little blue flower spied
as all else blurs.
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PROMPT: Social Media
I don’t use social media. It uses me, or — more precisely — it uses my information and attempts to use my attention — as it does of us all. Perhaps it was a symbiote but it’s becoming ever more parasitic.
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Locus [Common Meter]
One clump of flowers has the power
To lure the eye’s focus.
The background blurs as mind infers
Which hue shall be the locus.
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Meerkat Lecture [Lyric Poem]
Please allow me a conjecture:
One Meerkat stood to give lecture,
But as with me, as a pupil,
Other Meerkats lacked the scruple
To make a show of listening,
Finding the walls more interesting.
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PROMPT: First Computer
All I know is that it was much bigger and less capable than my current computer. But – then again – it wasn’t designed to monopolize and commoditize my attention.
In summary: bigger, slower, less capable, but less sinister.
