Every Sunday I look forward to a hot cup of coffee and the New York Times Magazine. I generally read the magazine from cover to cover, though some time it takes me all week to complete it. The Questions For column is my absolute favorite. There is never a week that I don’t learn a few new and interesting things.
I have a few back issues that needed catching up on. Last night I read New York Times magazine published 10/25. We had house guests, I was tired from a successful Hackoween, and I just never got around to it. I devoured it! I love when each and every story holds my interest.
This article Stop Your Search Engines particularly spoke to me. I am constantly struggling with too much on-line time and often question what the heck I was even setting out to accomplish. I prescribe to the notion that Google is making us dumber. Don’t even get me started on attention deficit. Wait was my point, oh yea the article…
In my slightly less agonizing situation, the trap is more of a bait and switch: the promise is of infinite knowledge, but what’s delivered is infinite information, and the two are hardly the same…
It could be that sometimes our greatest freedom may be to choose freedom from freedom. I am still surprised by the relief that floods me whenever I bind myself from going online, when I have no option but to ignore the incessant tweets and e-mail messages and videos and news links and even the legitimate research. read more
I can relate to this notion of self-binding, I often hide my PDA for hours at a time so that I will ignore the constant demand for attention. I also keep my laptop off, not to conserver energy but to deter me from being on-line every unoccupied minute of my day. Vacation, or even a weekend, with no laptop is heaven to me. If I had a Mac I would check out app mentioned that blocks the internet. I was just pricing Mac yesterday. Not. Gonna. Happen.
It really was a great issue, be sure to also check out the story that discusses the success of redbox succeeds based on the theory that less is more. I totally agree with that, I am the type of person that in certain situations overwhelmed by choices (which speaks to why I also enjoyed the How We Live story). Other stories of note in this issue; The Audacity of Precious and Questions For the Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee. Heck just read the whole thing.
