Ruminations on our relationship with technology
Christopher Cocchiarella Multitasking skills? There was a job interview I had in the not-too-distant past when the hiring manager asked me a peculiar question: “So, how are your multitasking skills?” Now, as a former student who minored in cognitive science, and as someone who dabbles in mindfulness meditation, I felt tempted to go into a spiel about … Read more
What technical writing is (and what it isn’t) When I mention that technical writing and editing are part of what I do for a living, I occasionally hear this reaction: “Oh God, technical writing? Writing long, complicated documents sounds awful!” In fact, I very much agree. Writing long, complicated documents does sound awful. But that’s … Read more
Literacy vs. functional literacy Literacy is usually defined as the ability to read, write, and do math. But what do we mean by reading? People may be able to read the words in a document, but can they grasp its arguments or analogies? How about writing? Students may be able to write or type sentences, … Read more
Proust and the Squid: Maryanne Wolf on the science of reading It’s uncontroversial to say we humans evolved to eat and reproduce. But it would be ridiculous to argue we evolved to read or write—even though reading and writing are clearly consequences of our evolution. So how did we end up with these abilities? Maryanne … Read more
Technics, art, and technology Ever since I traveled through old-world countries like Spain and Italy, I’ve been fascinated by the art of ancient technologies. After seeing the legacy of Greek and Roman architecture and aqueducts, for example, it became impossible to think science and technology were one thing while art and culture were another. There … Read more
Online outrage on social media “Geez, I was only on Facebook for three minutes, and in that time I lost eight friends!” So said a buddy of mine as we were catching up over beers. Unsurprisingly, his remarks took place during an election season. As usual, he (and many others) saw no shortage of outrage … Read more
Research on Internet Generation, or iGen How do smartphones and social media affect the minds and lives of today’s youth? More parents and teachers began asking this question after the first iPhone came out in 2007, just a year after Facebook opened to everyone 13 and older. Since then, most teens have never known a … Read more
Deep work vs. shallow work I’m a fan of Cal Newport for the same reason I like Henry David Thoreau. Newport sees immense value in the ability to focus and filter out distractions. For this reason, I highly recommend his book Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World. The key idea is … Read more
Buddha on ‘attachment’ and its discontents My interest in Buddhism began when I was a teenager. Buddha’s philosophy of attachment and mindfulness (which I’ll recap below) always resonated with me, although applying it remains challenging in today’s busy, high-tech world. I’ve often asked myself: Were Buddha alive today, would he buy a smartphone? Would he … Read more