Navigation Links
Unable to focus? Welcome to our distracted society's attention deficit
Date:6/19/2008

Cell phones, Blackberries, e-mail, laptops allowing people to bring their work anywhere, news arriving in perfectly condensed and filtered snippets via the Internet and TV, never before has communication been so instantaneous and information distributed so quickly. Never before have people been so connected.

One would assume that this preponderance of advanced communication technology would promote a well-informed and close-knit society. While this is true to some extent and there are many benefits to be gained from these technologies, award-winning author and journalist Maggie Jackson surprisingly has found that compared to past generations, we are in fact less capable of quality analytical thinking, more ignorant about many issues, and more fragmented as a community. Never before have we been so disconnected. This, she concludes, is due to the erosion of attention. After extensively researching the history of communication and transportation technology, today's society, and scientific studies of human cognition, Jackson has documented her compelling case and some possible remedies in DISTRACTED: THE EROSION OF ATTENTION AND THE COMING DARK AGE (Prometheus Books, $25.95).

MIT professor Alan Lightman calls it, "an important booka harrowing documentation of our modern world's descent into fragmentation, self alienation, and emptinessbrought on, to a large extent, by communication technologies that distract us, dislocate us, and destroy our inner lives."

Jackson's definition of "attention" stems from studies in neuroscience that have identified a cognitive system comprised of three networksawareness, focus, and executive attention (planning and decision making)that work together to act as the "brain's conductor, leading the orchestration of our minds." The awareness and focus networks are systems responsible for gathering information about the environment, and the executive attention network is responsible for making decisions ba
'/>"/>

Contact: Jill Maxick
jmaxick@prometheusbooks.com
800-853-7545
Prometheus Books
Source:Eurekalert  

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2 3 4

Related medicine news :

1. Patient Data Analysis Report Finds More Than 75 Percent of Chronically Ill Patients Unable to Obtain Needed Healthcare Have Some Form of Insurance
2. Axsun Technologies Announces Exclusive Cardiac Supply Agreement for Advanced OCT Tunable Lasers with LightLab Imaging
3. Women With IBS Unable to Switch Off Pain Response
4. Gunther von Hagens BODY WORLDS Exhibitions Welcome Specimens From Worlds First Living Body Donor for Plastination
5. Sinexus Welcomes New CEO and Completes Series B
6. Susan G. Komen for the Cure(R)s Circle of Promise Welcomes Gabrielle Union, Lalah Hathaway, Synthia SAINT JAMES as National Ambassadors
7. Gulfport-Biloxi Airport Welcomes Installation of New YoNaturals Healthy Vending Machines
8. 2008 Welcome Back Awards Winners Honored for Extraordinary Achievements in the Field of Depression
9. Andre Agassi College Preparatory School Welcomes YoNaturals Healthy Vending Program
10. Stratos Product Development Welcomes Back John Havard as Vice President of Engineering
11. US Oncology Welcomes New Director of Federal Government Relations
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
Related Image:
Unable to focus? Welcome to our distracted society's attention deficit
Unable to focus? Welcome to our distracted society's attention deficit
(Date:5/23/2012)... they deal with the embarrassing skin blemishes by ... Roaccutane. Now, however, research from Tel Aviv University ... infections such as conjunctivitis (pink eye) or sties. ... School of Public Health at the Sackler Faculty ... between acne and eye infections, but there was ...
(Date:5/23/2012)... - The second edition of Law and the American ... May 15, 2012. Building on its 1997 predecessor, the ... of the intersection of law and the U.S. health ... arrives at a time of unprecedented change in how ... major fields of study, the book focuses on how ...
(Date:5/23/2012)... TUESDAY, May 22 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests ... inhaled anticholinergics -- such as ipratropium [Atrovent] -- could ... dangerous irregular heartbeat. However, the increased risk ... "Obviously, this finding raises concern because of the recent ... Todd Lee of the University of Illinois at Chicago, ...
(Date:5/23/2012)... FRANCISCO A tiny, resilient metal wire designed to ... to patients with severe heterogeneous emphysema, a subtype of ... the lungs, according to the results of a multicenter ... The wire, called a lung volume reduction coil (LVRC), ... the place of more invasive procedures used to improve ...
(Date:5/22/2012)... controlled trials (RCTs) are critical for determining effectiveness ... provides scant support for these studies compared with ... CMAJ ( Canadian Medical Association Journal ). ... Health Sciences, Hamilton, Ontario, with Dr. John Cairns, ... and appendix that Canada should provide better financial ...
Breaking Medicine News(10 mins):Health News:Common acne medication doubles risk of eye infection 2Health News:Landmark textbook on health care and the US legal system released 2Health News:Asthma Meds May Be Linked to Irregular Heartbeat 2Health News:Tiny implanted coil improves lung function in patients with severe emphysema 2Health News:Tiny implanted coil improves lung function in patients with severe emphysema 3Health News:Canada should significantly increase its funding of randomized clinical trials 2
... and drug useOLYMPIA, Wash., March 17 A new ... choices about their health. Still, far too many regularly ... Healthy Youth Survey focuses on health risk behaviors. The ... more than 210,000 public school kids around the state ...
... March 17 Jon O,Brien, president of Catholics for Choice, ... the pope traveled to Africa, he chose this moment to ... condom use. In an interview on the papal plane to ... the distribution of condoms would not resolve the problem. In ...
... but can it also tell how smart you are? Actually, ... In a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience ... used a new type of brain-imaging scanner to show that ... axons, or wiring that sends signals throughout the brain. The ...
... CHURCH, Va. and CHICAGO, March 17 CSC ... of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) today announced the ... software content for perioperative care nurses that integrates ... documentation systems. This is the first in a ...
... March 17 - EHA Soft Solutions (EHA), an Ireland-based ... and gas, telecommunications and other industry segments, today announced ... (QEC) to provide the organization with customized automated risk ... the software at QEC test sites in Pennsylvania, New ...
... Scientists Believe Time to Rethink Our Approach to Cancer ScreeningApril ... March 17 The April issue of Reader,s Digest ... topic of whether or not patients should choose to be ... cancer screening tests may cause more harm than good. ...
Other Medicine News:Health News:New Survey Results Give a Window Into Teen Behavior and Risks 2Health News:New Survey Results Give a Window Into Teen Behavior and Risks 3Health News:The Pope is Wrong on Condoms 2Health News:Study gives more proof that intelligence is largely inherited 2Health News:CSC and AORN Bring Standardized Electronic Health Framework to Perioperative Nursing Care 2Health News:CSC and AORN Bring Standardized Electronic Health Framework to Perioperative Nursing Care 3Health News:Ireland's EHA Soft Solutions Selected to Supply Risk Management and Mitigation Software to Quality Employment Credentialing for Healthcare Workforce 2Health News:Cancer Screening Tests Could Do More Harm Than Good: Reader's Digest April Cover Story 2Health News:Cancer Screening Tests Could Do More Harm Than Good: Reader's Digest April Cover Story 3
(Date:5/22/2012)... Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VNDA ), ... commercialization of products for central nervous system disorders, ... at the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms ... The first poster entitled Pleiomorphic Expression of ... insight into the challenges faced by individuals suffering ...
(Date:5/22/2012)... ALLEGAN, Mich., May 22, 2012  Perrigo Company ... final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug ... for butoconazole nitrate 2% vaginal cream, the generic ... submit a substantially complete ANDA with a paragraph ... marketing exclusivity. Perrigo is working exclusively with KV Pharmaceutical ...
(Date:5/22/2012)... Generics, a division of Prodigy Health Supplier Corporation ... generic equivalent of the branded drug Camptosar by ... Laboratories to develop a portfolio of oncology products. ... developed through the partnership that will add consistent ... market, which has experienced record levels of shortages ...
Breaking Medicine Technology:Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. Presents Scientific Posters at Society for Research on Biological Rhythms (SRBR) Annual Meeting 2Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. Presents Scientific Posters at Society for Research on Biological Rhythms (SRBR) Annual Meeting 3Perrigo Receives FDA Approval for Butoconazole Nitrate 2% Vaginal Cream 2Perrigo Receives FDA Approval for Butoconazole Nitrate 2% Vaginal Cream 3GeoVax Initiates Third Site For Therapeutic Testing of Its HIV Vaccine 19815 1GeoVax Initiates Third Site For Therapeutic Testing of Its HIV Vaccine 19815 2GeoVax Initiates Third Site For Therapeutic Testing of Its HIV Vaccine 19815 3GeoVax Initiates Third Site For Therapeutic Testing of Its HIV Vaccine 19815 4ULURU Inc Announces the Engagement of Gilford Securities Incorporated to Serve as the Companys Financial Advisor 18324 1ULURU Inc Announces the Engagement of Gilford Securities Incorporated to Serve as the Companys Financial Advisor 18324 2MAP Pharmaceuticals to Present Data on LEVADEX AE at the 15th Congress of the International Headache Society 18320 1MAP Pharmaceuticals to Present Data on LEVADEX AE at the 15th Congress of the International Headache Society 18320 2MAP Pharmaceuticals to Present Data on LEVADEX AE at the 15th Congress of the International Headache Society 18320 3MAP Pharmaceuticals to Present Data on LEVADEX AE at the 15th Congress of the International Headache Society 18320 4
... -Triggers $5 Million Payment from Roche- , ... Corp. (Nasdaq: MEMY ) today announced that it ... of R3487/MEM 3454, its lead alpha-7 nicotinic receptor agonist, in ... randomized 212 patients in the Phase 2 trial, triggering a ...
... underscores that mothers need to get families immunized against influenza; ... , WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 ... influenza a severe and potentially life-threatening disease that can strike ... get vaccinated this season, according to a new survey from ...
Other Medicine Technology:Memory Pharmaceuticals Achieves Enrollment Goal for Phase 2 Study of MEM 3454 in Cognitive Impairment Associated With Schizophrenia 2Memory Pharmaceuticals Achieves Enrollment Goal for Phase 2 Study of MEM 3454 in Cognitive Impairment Associated With Schizophrenia 3Video: New Survey Finds Mothers See Influenza as a Serious Health Threat, but Often Don't Get Their Families Vaccinated 2Video: New Survey Finds Mothers See Influenza as a Serious Health Threat, but Often Don't Get Their Families Vaccinated 3Video: New Survey Finds Mothers See Influenza as a Serious Health Threat, but Often Don't Get Their Families Vaccinated 4Video: New Survey Finds Mothers See Influenza as a Serious Health Threat, but Often Don't Get Their Families Vaccinated 5Video: New Survey Finds Mothers See Influenza as a Serious Health Threat, but Often Don't Get Their Families Vaccinated 6
... is a national reference laboratory and a ... development. ARUP offers an extensive test menu ... in clinical and anatomic pathology. Owned by ... include more than half of the nation's ...
... is a national reference laboratory and a ... development. ARUP offers an extensive test menu ... in clinical and anatomic pathology. Owned by ... include more than half of the nation's ...
... is a national reference laboratory and a ... development. ARUP offers an extensive test menu ... in clinical and anatomic pathology. Owned by ... include more than half of the nation's ...
... national reference laboratory and a worldwide leader ... offers an extensive test menu of highly ... and anatomic pathology. Owned by the University ... than half of the nation's university teaching ...
Medicine Products: