> Among the resources that have been plundered by modern technology, the ruins of our attention have commanded a lot of attention. We can’t focus anymore. Getting any “deep work” done requires formidable willpower or a broken modem. Reading has degenerated into skimming and scrolling. The only real way out is to adopt a meditation practice and cultivate a monkish existence.
> But in actual historical fact, a life of prayer and seclusion has never meant a life without distraction.
I don't think anyone serious claims "distraction" is a new phenomena that didn't exist before "screens." The actual claim is more like the magnitude of distraction is higher now.
To give a slightly different example: complaining that your memory is poor because you can only memorize 100 poems is very different than complaining your memory is poor because you can't memorize 10 lines, even though they're both "complaints about memory." Unfortunately, a lot of people engage with these comparisons without looking at the actual details and differences, so they say useless things (often with the effect of denying a problem).
> But in actual historical fact, a life of prayer and seclusion has never meant a life without distraction.
I don't think anyone serious claims "distraction" is a new phenomena that didn't exist before "screens." The actual claim is more like the magnitude of distraction is higher now.
To give a slightly different example: complaining that your memory is poor because you can only memorize 100 poems is very different than complaining your memory is poor because you can't memorize 10 lines, even though they're both "complaints about memory." Unfortunately, a lot of people engage with these comparisons without looking at the actual details and differences, so they say useless things (often with the effect of denying a problem).