Spark 90 – November 1 & 3, 2009
On this episode of Spark: The pleasures and sorrows of work, continuous partial attention, and email apnea. Click to listen (runs 54:00):
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As Nora says in the episode, this week, we’ve made a different kind of show. We’re going to feature two longer form interviews. In part, that’s because the Spark team is working on a separate project, which we hope will turn into something fabulous, and we need a little time to work on it. But also, we’ve hand picked these two guests because they have a lot to say about modern life.
- Alain de Botton on the pleasures and sorrows of work (full interview)
- Linda Stone on continuous partial attention and email apnea
- Nora mentions her downloadable breathing exercises
This episode features Creative Commons music and sound effects:
- “Wadidyusay?” by Zap Mama
- “Plan Your Escape” by gmz
- Music from “Music For Sailing On A Starry Night” by Podington Bear
- “These MCs (Instrumental)” by DJ.E-State
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For more information (and instructions) visit cbc.ca/podcasting
[Original image from George Eastman House]
October 30th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
[...] Spark 90 – November 1 & 3, 2009 [...]
November 1st, 2009 at 8:08 pm
Loved your show this week. I feel like the technology revolution is moving so fast, I am being overwhelmed and surpassed. "Spark" helps me understand this brave new world. Today's program "sparked" two thoughts related to my own work. One – people don't understand what I do and rarely ask after I state my job title. Personally, I am going to ask more people about their work to broaden my own understanding of our interconnectedness and interdependence. I work in adult literacy including training new adult literacy teachers. Second – In my work I am concerned about the technological divide – those who are afford and know how to deal with the internet and those who can't. Most of the adults I work with both desire "tech literacy" while fearing it and having limited incomes to access it. Part of becoming "literate" is thinking skills (problem solving, critical thinking, research, information management, etc.) Literacy programs teach these skills. It is interesting that while an individual's reading, writing and math can increase but if their thinking skills don't rise with them, then they can get left behind. The importance of thinking skills in the jobs of the new info & technology-based economy are much, much higher compared to the jobs currently being ended in this recession. Linda Stone spoke about partial attention and her experience when McDonalds executives were asked to reflect on her speech. Her focus on intentional attention and reflection on practice are cornerstones of adult education or how adults learn. Linda's focus on attention, engagement, active reflection and the need for free thinking absolutely reinforces the key principles of how adults learn especially compared to how children learn. Thanks for making such an impact on my understanding of my work and how I fit into the whole technology revolution.
November 2nd, 2009 at 3:44 am
Today is the first time I've heard Spark, and I really enjoyed both interviews, and found them helpful and informative and thought-provoking. I will be asking my grade 10 english class to listen to the November 1st podcast of Spark and writing their thoughts, and also will assign Alain's idea of researching a mundane household item to its roots. Thanks, I'll be listening more often!
November 2nd, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Great show this week! Linda Stone was a pleasure to listen to. And her terminology is great!
November 2nd, 2009 at 3:40 pm
Thanks to both of you for the comments. I love when teachers use Spark! Anne, I think Linda's work is so prescient. I've been thinking more and more about attention/intention as a core issue for us. Anyway, glad our guests interested you!
November 2nd, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Hi, I really enjoyed the show, listening as I drove from Grand Forks BC to Nelson (with a few signal crackles). Linda Stone's interview begged a reprise that looks at the science investigating 1. the results of our computer-added lives vis-a-vis neurologic effects from so much electronic-mediated messaging, and 2. the emotional differences in computer use versus … taking a bath, reading a book, talking with someone, etc. And how about investigating the health effects of low-level radiation from our wireless world? We know about the health effects of cell phones (linked to cancers, etc.) but very little about wireless connectivity. Or could that be we are told very little, thanks to lobbying efforts by Big Cell to disqualify or just diss any critics of ubiquitous wireless connectivity. In Europe they are far more circumspect and now discouraging or removing wireless networks from schools and campuses until more research is done (ie erring on the side of the Precautionary Principle). Why aren't we doing the same in NA? I'll be Spark could help us find out!!! – Thanks, Michael Maser, Gibsons BC
November 2nd, 2009 at 6:36 pm
It may be because I've been catching up on the first two seasons of Madmen recently, but the interview with Linda Stone suggested a parallel between the office workers of the early 60's need for tobacco and alcohol and our current electronic patterns. Both seem to be used to manage the "fight or flight" response rather than spend too much time in more meditative modes in the business setting. I suspect that the stress of office work is expressed in different ways in different cultures.
November 2nd, 2009 at 9:55 pm
Linda Stone's breathless announcement of her discovery of email apnea demonstrates that she, like most techno trend spotters, seems to have no awareness whatsoever of the past. This condition must have been prevalent for hundreds of years, given that so many people have assumed the work posture Stone describes: body slouched over, hands busy, intently focused on the work before them. How many clerks, seamstresses, writers, scribes, shoemakers, wood carvers, musicians, gunsmiths, weavers, etc, must she have ignored in announcing this thoroughly modern condition?
November 4th, 2009 at 7:50 pm
Interesting parallel with Mad Men (I love it too!) I've noticed in my own behaviour, a tendency to, say, check my email or Twitter feed when I'm trying to write something and having trouble concentrating, or working through an idea. So now, I'm consciously trying to let myself do more 'wool-gathering' or mind wandering as a way, not only of taking a break, but of getting new ideas. Interestingly, after we did that interview, I found this article by Clive Thompson on the value of mind-wandering:
http://www.wired.com/magazine/2009/10/st_thompson...
November 4th, 2009 at 9:17 pm
I've noticed in my own behaviour, a tendency to, say, check my email or Twitter feed when I'm trying to write something and having trouble concentrating, or working through an idea.
If I do that, I got sucked into a black hole of other projects and never return. However, if I do something with finite limits, such as a crossword puzzle, my mind can get back on track and then return. Another piece of a crossword puzzle is that it's 2-dimensional, while I find e-writing and e-reading to be very linear without the tactile feedback of paper's weight and size limits.
November 7th, 2009 at 10:56 pm
While listening to Alain de Botton again (I listened to it in the full interview feed as well), I got caught up in the same part again. He described how we sometimes reach out to art as a way to be more connected to the producer, something I find ironic given the excessive industrialisation of much of the art we enjoy these days. Some of the so-called "Copyright" debate really comes down to a disconnect between industrial distribution channels and the creators and audiences that are trying to make more human direct connections.
The incumbent industrial intermediaries want to impose on us the details of what, how, where, and when we should be allowed to create and enjoy art, and go to government to try to make alternative relationships harder (or even illegal – The mis-named Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement is pretty extreme stuff, built on top of the backwards old-economy thinking of the USA's DMCA and the 1996 WIPO treaties). Those who do not follow their dictates and seek different relationships are labelled as "thieves" by the largely fabricated statistics they bring to governments, with the methodologies not separating infringement from people simply switching to other perfectly legal forms of entertainment/art.
Authors who want to build better relationships between creators and audiences are often claimed to be anti-creator, anti-art, anti-copyright or other such nonsense. I've heard some pretty extreme things said by folks associated with Access Copyright (an industrial-era thinking intermediary for authors/publishers) against modern thinking science fiction authors such as Cory Doctorow.
November 8th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
[...] und VerLust an Selbstironie In einem interessanten Interview prophezeite neulich Linda Stone, ehemals eine Managerin bei Apple und Microsoft, dem Bioadapter [...]
November 12th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
I suffer from sleep apnea and up until about 2 months ago was in front of a computer screen for 13-16 hours a day. A very bad combination.
Everything Stone says is pretty much correct, an excellent segment.
November 13th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
[...] use an audio interview with Linda Stone, founder of the phrases “continuous partial attention” and [...]
November 19th, 2009 at 10:12 pm
Thanks, Steve. Have you noticed improvement in your sleep apnea since you stopped spending so much time at the computer? I spend a LOT of time on the computer.
December 7th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
I just listened to this program on podcast. I absolutely loved it because I learned so much. NOW I understand why it's so important to think about breathing – and not just during Yoga class. Thanks!
December 7th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
Hey, thanks, Franny! it's been over a month since I did that interview, and I've really been trying to breathe better!
December 28th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Great show, Nora. Linda Stone is bang on about the breathing. I didn't even notice it until this interview. Just love your podcasts – it's a great way to catch up on missed episodes. You and your team do a terrific job. Cheers!
February 16th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
[...] shorter version of this interview will air on Episode 90 of Spark, but you can hear the full, uncut interview below, or download the MP3. [runs [...]