~ Welcome to week 6 of #thebalance ~
This week’s newsletter theme is about the burgeoning attention economy. Our monkey brains were not systematically built (and have not fundamentally evolved) to handle this increasingly digital world.
Are you paying attention????
More below :)
Editor’s Note: this week’s topic is a MASSIVE one and I know I am barely scratching the surface with my coverage (as is the case most wks). If there is a specific topic of interest on the below that you would like me to drill in to it further next time around, please let me know.
***Just as a refresher, the core thesis of this newsletter is to pique your curiosity by aggregating interesting content in a thematic, bite sized, and relevant manner (w/ original posts occasionally) - ranging from blog posts, books, music, podcasts, and ideas on how to stay active, travel or otherwise... And please keep sending feedback my way… the goal is to make this thing worth it for you!***
If you like what you’re reading, please share by forwarding this email onto your people in your network and/or Tweet some support!
#GetSmart
In a world filled with pocket computers, thousands of apps, and infinitely more notifications (growth hacking anyone?), pure play attention is something that we all contend with day in and day out. American biologist E. O. Wilson once quipped, “we are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom,” …I can think of no better way to describe the current state of humanity.
A passage from Albert Wenger’s (one of my favorite thought leaders & VCs) World After Capital does a great job at capturing this growing paradox in his ‘Attention’ chapter from the book:
“There is a limited amount of human attention in the world. We have 24 hours in the day and we need to spend some of that time eating and sleeping. For many people in the world, much of their waking time is occupied by the job loop (both the earning and the spending parts). That leaves relatively little time for attention that we can freely allocate.
At the same time that our attention is limited, we are using the Internet to dramatically increase the amount of available content. The increase in content is well documented to be exponential, which means that most of the content that has ever been produced by humanity has been produced in the last few years - with YouTube alone adding 100 hours of new video content every minute.
As a result, it is easy today to be completely overwhelmed by content. Our limited attention can readily be absorbed by ever refreshing content. Humans are maladapted to the information environment we now live in. Our brain evolved in a world where when you saw a cat, there was an actual cat. Now we live in a world of infinite cat pictures. This is analogous to our maladaptation to sugar for an environment that is now sugar rich (largely artificially so). Checking email, Twitter, Instagram, watching yet another YouTube clip or Snapchat story, or episode of one's favorite show on a streaming service—these all provide quick “information hits” that trigger parts of our brain that evolved to be stimulated by novelty.
The limited availability of attention has become the key new source of economic rents.”
In a capitalist society, it comes down to scarcity (a topic I will cover in coming weeks).
As an example of what a future business model might look like in this attention based, increasingly digital economy, look no further than the blockchain based project Basic Attention Token, which aims to improve online advertising by cutting out third party ad exchanges and sharing revenue (via its token) with users to reward them for their attention.
On the other side of the token, there are those that are still optimistic and see humanity coming back to its attention-as-an-experience roots. They recognize the assault on our attention by big tech and are pushing back.
For example, Vox recently wrote about “the growth of yoga and meditation in the US since 2012 is remarkable” and almost 15% of all US adults now practice daily yoga or mindfulness of some kind. This trend supports Simone Weil’s, the famed philosopher, belief that “Mindfulness leads to new learning–since attention shapes neural circuits–and draws upon past learning to develop a steadier and more concentrated awareness.”
…If one thing is clear, its that we need to change our approach or we may end up living our days out in an algorithmic overlord-based dystopia.
Taking a page out of Dan Nixon’s book, and staying on the mindfulness theme, simplifying life might be the best approach (one I am certainly adopting):
“Simply to return to an embodied, exploratory mode of attention, just for a moment or two, as often as we can throughout the day. Watching our breath, say, with no agenda. In an age of fast-paced technologies and instant hits, that might sound a little … underwhelming. But there can be beauty and wonder in the unadorned act of ‘experiencing’.”
#GetPodcastin’
Everyone’s favorite, Guy Raz, hosts a TED Radio Hour special on Attention. Guests include sociologist Zeynep Tufekci, podcast host Manoush Zomorodi, neuroscientist Amishi Jha, designer Tristan Harris, and computer scientist Jaron Lanier.
Attention Please (50 minute listen)
“We have a digital economy that is essentially based on the fact that we are not in control of our attention any longer.”
Worth a listen if this topic interests you.
#GetMindful
In a world filled with distraction, taking the time to control your inner thoughts can reap massive benefits for your help. The benefits of meditation are well documented, some of which include:
Reduces Stress
Controls Anxiety
Reduces Depression
Enhances Self Awareness
Lengthens Attention Span
If this is a practice that sounds interesting to you and you have not yet tried it, I highly recommend checking out the below two companies, which provide great courses & tutorials for individuals at all levels:
Journey Meditation is a fairly new company based here in NYC that is focused on providing on-demand and live-streaming (think Peloton) via its app. Its a pretty cool service that I recently signed up for. Worth checking out if this sound interesting!
I also recommend checking out Headspace App if the live streaming, online community isn’t as much of your thing.
Have a great week all!!
Curiously,
Brian
***Including a snippet from the Exponential View newsletter (a must read for me each week), which posts the below carbon tracker. Latest update below:
“May to June marks the annual high of CO2 readings in the atmosphere. So over the next few weeks we should expect the reported level to drop, although it will be dropping against a strong upward trendline. The key numbers to watch are the delta over the last year and the absolute value, 450ppm being an agreed nasty threshold.
The latest measurement (as of May 16): 415.39 ppm; 12 months ago: 409ppm; 50 years ago: 326.66ppm; 250 years ago, est: 250ppm.
:( We exceeded the 415ppm level for the first time in millions of years a few days ago.
Thirty-seven years ago, Exxon Mobil predicted that we would hit 415 ppm in 2019. Yes, in 1982, the oil firms own climate scientists pretty accurately predicted the trajectory of carbon levels. ***
A little bit about me:
My friends call me Block. I am endlessly curious and eternally optimistic - obsessed with digesting content, seeking to broaden my perspective and always striving for balance (hence this newsletter title).
Minnesota born & raised, I now live and work in New York City for a decentralized finance company. I have a passion for new ideas, different perspectives, and all things technology.
I am a blockchain enthusiast, futurist, investor, entrepreneur, advisor, life long learner, hockey player, traveler, podcast addict, hip-hop head, e-newsletter junkie, event planner, and comedic-short producer.
“Find a question that makes the world interesting.” - Paul Graham
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