Christine Rosen

I find it fascinating that the computers have taken over the thing that we used to love to do as humans. So think about browsing. I used to love to go to bookstores and just browse, just go up and down, look at the shelves. And then you might pull something off the shelf, and it happens to be this amazing book of poetry or a magazine you'd never seen before.

And then that sets you down a path, a meandering path. That's harder to do online because everything is more managed. Your experience is managed. You're the user. That's why we talk about user experience.

And then that sets you down a path, a meandering path. That's harder to do online because everything is more managed. Your experience is managed. You're the user. That's why we talk about user experience.

serendipitous things browsing meandering those are things right that's how our brains work they wander and it's very frustrating at times because when you're supposed to be focused at that staff meeting your mind starts to wander you lose track of what everyone's saying but that's what we're designed to do because those are the paths so serendipitous paths that lead to creative insight to thoughts it's the cliche of suddenly you're in the shower and you have the aha moment

serendipitous things browsing meandering those are things right that's how our brains work they wander and it's very frustrating at times because when you're supposed to be focused at that staff meeting your mind starts to wander you lose track of what everyone's saying but that's what we're designed to do because those are the paths so serendipitous paths that lead to creative insight to thoughts it's the cliche of suddenly you're in the shower and you have the aha moment

That's because you're distracted with your body doing something else. Your mind is allowed some freedom. It's not being constantly stimulated by something on the screen.

That's because you're distracted with your body doing something else. Your mind is allowed some freedom. It's not being constantly stimulated by something on the screen.

failing to recall that, in fact, a lot of those ratings are fake. A lot of them don't really reflect the experience of people and the rest weren't right. So we seek approval of our decisions now before we've even made them. We need this sort of constant algorithmically fueled approval.

failing to recall that, in fact, a lot of those ratings are fake. A lot of them don't really reflect the experience of people and the rest weren't right. So we seek approval of our decisions now before we've even made them. We need this sort of constant algorithmically fueled approval.

And it might make the experiences more homogenized and safe feeling, but it also makes them a little bit, I think, boring. And in the realm of art and literature and music, it means that we are missing the opportunity to be humble appreciators of someone else's work.

And it might make the experiences more homogenized and safe feeling, but it also makes them a little bit, I think, boring. And in the realm of art and literature and music, it means that we are missing the opportunity to be humble appreciators of someone else's work.

If an artist, a truly genuinely creative person has made something, we owe them the respect of actually sitting and looking or listening to it and just being open to that experience, not filming it, not spending a minute, take a picture of it, moving on to the next picture in the museum, but really kind of treating that with respect, that creative act with respect.

If an artist, a truly genuinely creative person has made something, we owe them the respect of actually sitting and looking or listening to it and just being open to that experience, not filming it, not spending a minute, take a picture of it, moving on to the next picture in the museum, but really kind of treating that with respect, that creative act with respect.

I think they have. And it's funny. People always laugh when I say that, that we're all much more risk averse because of our phones. I just the other day, I was watching this guy jump out of an airplane doing this at the same time. I'm like, well, we've become more voyeuristic. Like we're really excellent spectators of other people's risk. But are we more risk averse? So think about it this way.

I think they have. And it's funny. People always laugh when I say that, that we're all much more risk averse because of our phones. I just the other day, I was watching this guy jump out of an airplane doing this at the same time. I'm like, well, we've become more voyeuristic. Like we're really excellent spectators of other people's risk. But are we more risk averse? So think about it this way.

When's the last time you went to a new place and you just wandered around without using your phone? Very few people will answer that they've done that recently.

When's the last time you went to a new place and you just wandered around without using your phone? Very few people will answer that they've done that recently.

I think it's that we're never truly there in each other's physical presence anymore. We might be there physically sitting around a table at a restaurant, but throughout the several hours of a meal with our friends or family, everyone's taking turns checking out mentally. They're checking their phone. They're looking down and, you know, sending a text to someone else.

I think it's that we're never truly there in each other's physical presence anymore. We might be there physically sitting around a table at a restaurant, but throughout the several hours of a meal with our friends or family, everyone's taking turns checking out mentally. They're checking their phone. They're looking down and, you know, sending a text to someone else.

And we know the brain is not designed to multitask, and we don't multitask well. Multitasking is a myth. And every time you shift your attention from the people right in front of you to the world on your phone, that is an act, I think, of deepened gratitude for the value of the human experience of people being together. So...