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Information Overload is a Fake Problem | Scott H Young
How We Relate to Information
Most people aren't genuinely interested in understanding and learning the essential ideas. They see information as entertainment, distraction or gossip.
If you are interested in understanding an idea, all the different perspectives are beneficial.
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SIMILAR ARTICLES & IDEAS:
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Key Ideas
Bottomless visual
The world in the 21st century is the same it used to be. It smells about the same, sound pollution is pretty stable. But the spill of information and distraction that comes to our vision has grown ...
Information overload
- Information overload was a term coined in the mid-1960s by Bertram Gross, a social scientist.
- In 1970, writer Alvin Toffler popularized the idea of information overload as part of a set of predictions about eventual dependence on technology.
- Another set of academics wrote that information overload occurs when the amount of input exceeds its processing capacity.
- A 2011 study found that on a typical day, Americans were taking in five times as much information as they had done 15 years earlier.
- A 2019 study identified that our attention span is shrinking, probably because of digital overload.
Technology pushed too much
It is probably too late to restore our attention span to that of our grandparents. After a decade of smartphone use and social media, the harm is perhaps irreversible.
Part of the problem in this age of overload is the constant insistence of notifications that seeks our immediate attention. When the body jumps to attention and for nothing of particular worth, it can be confusing.
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Key Ideas
The 5-Hour Rule
The most successful, busy people in the world dedicate at least 5 hours a week to deliberate learning.
The 5-Hour Rule is the most critical practice we can all adopt for long-term career suc...
The Simple Math
It takes about 6,400 hours of class time and studying to get a 4-year degree. Assume that it takes you only 5,000 hours to master your field.
While you are happy that you've prepared for your profession, the knowledge you've learned is fast becoming outdated. We can safely assume that in 10 years, 50% of the facts in the field would be outdated. This means that for you, just to keep up in your current field, you'd need to learn 5 hours per week, 50 weeks a year.
Trends To Consider
When we consider the future of work, there are two trends we should keep a note of. They are:
- Half-life of knowledge
- Law of increasing learning
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Key Ideas
Skimmed Read
Reading is a complex process that involves the brain's visual and auditory processes, phonemic awareness, fluency and comprehension. There are billions of pages available to read online,...
Slow Is Good
The speed-reading habit is making us lose our deep attention and focus, gradually shunning denser, more complicated content. Instead of optimizing for speed, we need to optimize for comprehension, deep understanding, and retention of information.
Deep or slow reading, when the brain is attentive, absorbing, understanding and analyzing text expands our attention span and improves concentration and learning.
Better, Not Faster Reading
The brain develops stronger analytical skills and gets into critical thinking mode, forming new connections and even creates new ideas.
Deep focusing on a book is one of the best investments of your time.