![Science Science](http://a.fsdn.com/sd/topics/science_64.png)
![Technology Technology](http://a.fsdn.com/sd/topics/technology_64.png)
Addicted to Information? 429
SiMac writes "According to this New York Times article, two Harvard faculty members say that information causes a "dopamine squirt" in humans, a rush similar to that given by narcotics. Just as narcotics are addictive, information is as well. They've given the disorder of information addiction the name 'pseudo-ADD' because it tends to cause somewhat ADD-like symptoms."
oh my (Score:2, Funny)
tell me more (Score:5, Funny)
At the local ADDA Meeting... (Score:5, Funny)
ADDA Crowd: Hi, John!
John: And I'm a Salshdot addict...
Re:At the local ADDA Meeting... (Score:5, Funny)
John: HI... I'm John. ..... err, whoever you are.
ADDA Crowd: Hi,
No introductions needed (Score:3, Funny)
new guy: Hi, my name is Dave. I am a Slashdot addict too. But I just visit because everyone there is obsessed with me.
Facilitator: What do you mean?
Dave: Let me show you... [Dave gets up, drops pants, turns around, bends over, and grabs two handfuls]
[The facilitator vomits while the rest of the group c
Re:tell me more (Score:5, Funny)
In other news... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:tell me more (Score:5, Funny)
I thought after I read all the books at my local library I would be ok.
Then a "friend" hooked me up with the internet. I started out slow, 14.4k modems, then 33k, 56k. It wasn't so bad, I heard about people using multiple bonded 56k modems. I could still shut if off whenever I wanted to.
Then I heard about broadband. I found a dealer in my area and started with ISDN but eventually switched to DSL so my wife wouldn't notice the extra lines. There's nothing like it. Now I'm always ON.
But it's just not enough. I'm looking at getting a T1 put in or maybe going back to college. I hear they got in room Oc3 or better systems in the DORMS!! Damn - I'm shaking pretty bad now, gotta go.
Reminder: (Score:5, Insightful)
Interesting, but some methodological holes (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Interesting, but some methodological holes (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Interesting, but some methodological holes (Score:5, Insightful)
From time-to-time I crave White Castle cheesburgers. At some point, I wouldn't be surprised if they came out with a study that says that certain ingredients in White Castle cheesburgers cause enhanced dopamine levels in the brain (heh. heh.) and that those hit with "The Crave" suffer from a new White Castle Cheesburgers Are Yummy Syndrome.
I mean its ridiculous. Just because someone craves information it doesn't mean that they have disorder. Maybe, just maybe, they're naturally curious. No, that couldn't be it! They must be sick! We can treat them with Ritalin or something! Yeah!
Please.
Re:Interesting, but some methodological holes (Score:5, Insightful)
From time-to-time I crave White Castle cheesburgers.
If your craving for White Castle burgers was serious enough to disrupt your work, social life, and/or sleep patterns, then arguably it could qualify as a disorder.
The article seems to try to make the point that in some people the craving for information is serious enough that interferes with their work and social life, that could qualify it as a psychological disorder.
But yes, on a scale of disorders, it's not in the same league as manic depression, schizophrenia, or anything like that.
The only mistake is to refer to it as a "disorder" (Score:5, Informative)
This is simply how we study things. We now know that there are groups of people who react "differently" to certain sets of stimuli, and we have studied the phenomenon enough to have come to a general, but highly contested decision to treat such people with stimulants of various sorts. w00t. What now? Well, while certain researchers delve into the biochemical, genetic, physiological details of this condition, others will subspecialize in particular demographic slices of the group.
That's what grad school is for, isn't it? "Oh, oh, find something that noone else has really put too much time into and go write up a really long paper and come back in a few years so we can yell at you for a few hours".
Even outside of academia, the mentality is pervasive. This is why there's an aisle in stores for "cleaners". There are cleaning products for every imaginable material, for variants of materials. For vinyl, acrylic, plastics, laminates, polished surfaces, glass, concrete, stainless steel, silver, marble, stained wood, unstained wood, painted surfaces, etc... if we really didn't think that way, all we'd have is soap and water.
In any case, I'm glad we do these things. Of course, I am currently being strongly swayed by the prescribed afternoon dose of methylphenidate which is just now (aaah) breaking the blood-brain-barrier. Without people digging frantically into statistical data concerning behavior patterns, I wouldn't have my Ritalin.
Re:Internet addiction is no joke (Score:5, Informative)
I dropped out of school because of it. I would spend 3-4 hours checking slashdot and browsing the web at a time! After I post messages like this I somehow have to check them every few hours.
I saw a phsycologist who specializes in disabilities because my ADHD was alot worse and I began to show signs of lethargic-ness.( If there is such a word ). Nothing interested me anymore and I could not focus.
Eventually I unplugged from the net and went through withdrawl symptoms. I got a shitty job since I no longer was in school and the economy went into the crapper. I had trouble at first but my attention span improved.
You made a reference to white Castle (which has shitty burgers by the way) and food addiction. In some people who are severely depressed it can effect their lives and jobs just like Internet addiction. Some people are move vulnerable then others. But yes they can be serious depending on the individuals genetic makeup to dopamine overload. I come from a family who has a few alcoholics. In my case I am susceptible because of the way my brain is wired from my genes.
Re:Internet addiction is no joke (Score:5, Interesting)
I fear the I may be mildly ADD (though not ADHD, as anyone who has met me will know, I'm anything but hyper.
OTOH, look at my vantage point. Since I'm able to control it, and sometimes even use it to my own benefit (when working, as someone on the ADHD story said, I, too, am able to call upon my 'inner spaz' so to speak to get major productivity benefit). A large percentage of the hacker/geek culture would probably meet the DSM-IV criteria for ADD and/or ADHD. Yet, it seems that most of us are able to function perfectly well in society.
Does this mean that we ALL have a disorder, or does it mean that this is just another one of the standard personality variations found in differing inviduals.
At what point is it a 'disorder' vs. a 'personality type'. Do you see what I'm getting at?
Re:Internet addiction is no joke (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Internet addiction is no joke (Score:3, Insightful)
No, an "excuse" to say it isn't their fault.
Disorder (Score:4, Insightful)
I don't know, but when I read about behavior that doesn't seem pathological, the "dis" seems out of place. Maybe they should be talking about "phenomenon", "behavior", or something like that.
This case in particular seems quite silly. They're saying these people have a disorder because they are multitaskers. I'm sure they'll have a disorder for single-taskers as well. Yet the only reason they seem to have to believe "they have a condition" is that "it's hard to concentrate on one thing". Wow. Now, that's pathological.
I've had the behavior discussed in the article. I have paid for a lot of college classes, seminars, conferences, etc. only to grow bored out of my mind and engaging into high-tech and low-tech "instant messaging", doodling on notebooks, etc. When I was smart or lucky enough to bring a totally unrelated book, my ADD was suddenly cured because I ended up reading for a couple of hours.
It's not called ADD. It's called being bored. And if you're constantly being bored by what you do, it usually is because whatever you're doing is boring to you. Just because you don't find your current task enthralling doesn't mean you cannot pay attention at all.
Go do something else. Switch careers. Get a hobby.
If they come up with a battery of tests proving these people are completely unable to pay attention more than X seconds/minutes to anything, including human-to-human threads of conversation, I'll start believing there is meat to this. But there is no such thing.
Re:Disorder (Score:3, Informative)
I realize that you probably don't have a lot of access to information about ADD for two reasons:
Re:Interesting, but some methodological holes (Score:3, Insightful)
If somone could prove that ADD is an abnormallity I would believe this, until then I will be a dissenter of the pill pushing community.
Re:Interesting, but some methodological holes (Score:2, Informative)
Probably wise, and certainly cheaper. Then again, watch out for the government / legal system forcing you to be drugged, or forcing your kid to be drugged or they will take them away from you.
One article:
http://www.chiro.org/pediatrics/ABSTRAC
More on both sides of the issue: http://www.savvypatients.com/add.htm
Re:Interesting, but some methodological holes (Score:2)
Personally I feel that one should be able to anything that makes their lives better. Persuit of happiness and all. Be it Ritalin, Xanax, Prozac, Cannabis, LSD, or Heroin. But I think Big Pharm does push itself rather too hard. Nobody needs to stick their nose into my biochemistry unless I ask them to. If we got the money and the politics out of pharmaceuticals the world would be a much better place.
yeah, I know (Score:2)
Anyone who takes Ritalin is going to be able to concentrate better then they were before, just like anyone who takes melatonix will have darker skin then otherwise and everyone who takes steroids will have bigger muscles then they were before.
Arbitrarily classifying people into "ADD" and "non-add" is stupid.
Yes, it is stupid (Score:3, Insightful)
Although disorders like this have, at least in some cases, definite biochemical causes, we don't just say "Paranoid" "Not paranoid" "Schizophrenic" "Not schizophrenic" "ADD" "NOT ADD"
All of these are just tools to help us understand. If we show that there is a link between people with attention span problems, and the way their brains react to new information, how is that not science, or not important?
Some people are taller than others. Some people have dark ski
Re:Interesting, but some methodological holes (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Interesting, but some methodological holes (Score:3, Interesting)
Do we know why being online is pleasurable? The article says it's a dopamine rush, similar to narcotics.
In one sense, we understand both. In another, we understand neither.
Seratonin (Score:3, Interesting)
Seratonin is connected with depression, boosting it seems to make people happier.
Re:Interesting, but some methodological holes (Score:2)
Re:Interesting, but some methodological holes (Score:2)
People can stop eating cookies any time they want (well, most of us can). But the article suggests it may be harder than that to get rid of the urge to compulsively reload Slashdot all day. It's the job of medical science to see if there is indeed a p
Don't be silly, it's not an addiction (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Don't be silly, it's not an addiction (Score:2, Funny)
Harvard Geeks (Score:3, Interesting)
really, tell me more .... (Score:4, Insightful)
I can certainly relate for the need for novelty, most web sites get pretty old after one read. S'why stuff like irc and irc are useful because you can your info buzz but it's mostly noise so it doesn't really take away from your concentration.
It's kind of a synthetic substitute for proper human contact. One satisfies the need for communication while getting on with something more important.
Re:really, tell me more .... (Score:2)
Huh? Did you mean IRC FULL CHAT and IRC HALF CHAT? :)
Does this mean we can't get fired... (Score:5, Funny)
so thats why when I visit slashdot (Score:3, Funny)
Ashcroft will love that one (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Ashcroft will love that one (Score:3, Funny)
War on Drug Users (Score:3)
PHB syndrome? (Score:4, Interesting)
I wonder if these are the kind of managers who F-up a project just because they like the yelling and screeming associated with emergency efforts to get it back on track. They like the scenes of Trek where the captain is yelling at the engineers to fix something now else they will be vaperized.
It all makes sense now (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:It all makes sense now (Score:2)
Yeah yeah (Score:5, Funny)
Did anyone else read this instead?
Re:Yeah yeah (Score:3, Funny)
Slashdot is going to have a lot of Lawsuits (Score:2)
BTW I think I do qualify for this diagnosis. As well as an addiction to cookies. Mmmmm
Need my fix... (Score:3, Funny)
..if I hadn't been so busy getting my fix of information, cyberpr0n and coffeine, I might even have read more than the first page.
Luckely, for other addictions there are tests [netaddiction.com] to prove you're in the dangersone =P
Like? (Score:3, Funny)
I mean, c'mon.... I need my fix this weekend, and the new stories have been slow. I'll just keep cliking the refresh button.
Come on (Score:3, Funny)
Dave
hittin the refresh button hopin for a new story (Score:2)
Re:hittin the refresh button hopin for a new story (Score:2)
But where's the research? (Score:5, Insightful)
The whole article is really just a set of case studies of people who do many things at once all the time, and who find that makes them unhappy for one reason or another. Throw in a few off the cuff, baseless statements by shrinks, and the NYT has made a roll-your-own disorder: pseudo-ADD. It's not even it's own disorder, just a fake version of another hotly debated syndrome.
When I see real scientific data showing that A) there is an actual neurochemical response to data that can lead to addiction, B) that this addiction can and has happened in real people, and C) that it has caused these people's quality of life to be reduced, I'll believe it's a disorder. Right now, though, all we've got is some unhappy businessmen and a few shrinks looking to make a name for themselves.
treatment (Score:2)
No, seriously...
Please?
Re:treatment (Score:2, Funny)
Diagnosed as Charged? (Score:2)
At least we finally know why Slashdot is so popular...
GOT... TO HAVE ... (Score:2)
If I have to go a day without reading Slashdot, I go onto convulsions.
A condition otherwise known as... (Score:5, Insightful)
Everything enjoyable is addictive (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Everything enjoyable is addictive (Score:2, Insightful)
Or to the addicted.
Good post.
Re:Everything enjoyable is addictive - Wrong (Score:5, Informative)
Here's the definition from the Harvard Medical School Division on Addictions [harvard.edu]:
Addiction is the compulsive use of a substance or activity resulting in physical, psychological, or social harm to the user; the user continues in this pattern of behavior despite the harms that result. Addiction is differentiated from psychological dependence and physical dependence. Psychological dependence is the feeling that someone has when they think that drugs or activities are necessary to achieve a feeling of well-being. Physical dependence is marked by the development of tolerance to a drug or activity's effects so that increased amounts of a drug or activity are needed to obtain the desired effect. Tolerance also reveals its presence by the development of withdrawal symptoms when the drug or activity is stopped for a sufficient time. These matters are more complex than often thought.
And here's the definition of addiction from the National Institutes of Health's MedLine [nih.gov].
Drug dependence (addiction) is compulsive use of a substance despite negative consequences which can be severe; drug abuse is simply excessive use of a drug or use of a drug for purposes for which it was not medically intended. Physical dependence on a substance (needing a drug to function) is not necessary or sufficient to define addiction. There are some substances which don't cause addiction but do cause physical dependence (for example, some blood pressure medications) and substances which cause addiction but not classic physical dependence (cocaine withdrawal, for example, doesn't have symptoms like vomiting and chills; it is mainly characterized by depression).
What you described is a voluntary lack of self-control. I think that's called gluttony.
Disorder? (Score:5, Interesting)
Seriously, though, to whatever extent this can be meaningfully described as an addiction, I think it might be better compared to over-eating disorders (bingeing) than to drug addictions, at least in terms of treatment.
With drug addictions, the idea is to minimize the dosage, hopefully to zero or at least to some very low "maintenance level". But with over-eating disorders, it's not just a matter of avoiding food, but eating healthy amounts of healthy food, and giving your body time to digest it properly. The analogy to treating a compulsive information disorder seems obvious. (Ob:IANAD.)
One could also make obvious comparisons to the ubiquity of unhealthy food in much of society and the ubiquity of bad information. Not just incorrect information, but badly prepared information from bad "ingredients", presented in ways that can't be meaningfully "digested".
Also, I bet there's an information-access disorder analogous to anorexia -- people who avoid as much information as they can.
Re:Disorder? (Score:2)
> analogous to anorexia -- people who avoid as much > information as they can.
Isn't this what mundanes call "being normal"?
iADD (Score:3, Funny)
Oh for sod's sake (Score:3, Insightful)
From this the bozo pulls forth an addiction.
A pox on all these doctors and their phony diseases. A pox on all the "victims", who find the excuse for their hypocrisy convenient.
Addiction does not exist. Chemical withdrawal is no more painful than bad flu. Habits can be broken by choice - when you don't break them, it's because, on balance, you'd simply prefer not to.
Re:Oh for sod's sake (Score:5, Interesting)
A: An addiction is something you disapprove of, and yet enjoy doing enough to override your own disapproval, so you pretend to yourself you can't control it.
Q: Why is there a word "addiction"?
A: It serves the same function as mediaeval demons of temptation: it's a socially accepted way of excusing yourself for hypocrisy between your moral opinions and your preferred actions. There's a huge puritannical streak in "western" culture which disapproves of self-destructive pleasant activities. It's nicer for your self esteem to see yourself as a "disease victm" rather than a "libertine sot".
Q: Why can't I kick my addiction?
A: Because you don't want to, not as much as you want to carry on.
Q: Why did I succeed in kicking my addiction?
A: Because you did want to, or something else showed up that fulfilled the same function better.
Q: What about addiction cures (12step, religion, meds, etc)?
A: They are alternatives that give you equivalent pleasure/stimulation/attention/whatever as your addiction did, only they're more morally acceptable to you, so you don't agonize over "needing" them. Smile, now you're addicted to religion/etc/whatever. Don't it feel grand?
Q: So what about all this medical stuff?
A: It consists largely of overblown readings of the blindingly obvious. Yes, pleasure has a neurochemical form. Yes, people seek pleasure, and will make a habit out of consistently pleasant things. No this does not constitute some sort of disease. But it pays in funding to "research", rather than debunk, addictions. And if you can invent a new addiction, people will suck up to you and make laws forbidding it, which will make you feel grand and help puff up your ego.
Now I get it. (Score:2)
Is that free as in speech or free as in information? I don't buzz off beer.
temporary relief: RSS feeds (Score:3, Interesting)
Heh... (Score:2, Funny)
There's already a medical term for this... (Score:2, Informative)
Malfunction...need...input! (Score:2)
Losing Perceived Face (Score:3, Insightful)
I.E., I gotta be firstest (witness the "First Post" phenomenon here) no matter what it takes, otherwise I will lose face.
Far too much emphasis is placed on hype. In this computer age, speed tends to eclipse wisdom. By the time second thoughts distill, it's too late.
yes, yes! tell me more about information addiction (Score:2)
.
.
.
seriously though, is this really a bad thing? you could do worse than being addicted to the acquisition of knowledge.
Women and Men Are Different (Score:4, Interesting)
In one of the videotaped studies, a man was shown trying to pull off the secretarial equivalent of walking while chewing gum -- he was given a series of tasks which included making sets of photocopies while being subjected to a repeated series of interruptions that included a ringing telephone. To sum up, he didn't perform any of his tasks very well, whereas the woman in the identical situation performed all of them efficiently.
I don't know what long-term effects of information overload are on men or women, but I do know that while parties are fun, trying to have a real conversation with someone at one is a waste of time. Then again, the same can be said of most parties. The distractions can be fun, but often a waste of time.
everything's a disease these days (Score:5, Insightful)
clearly, this is a disease. recreational pharmophobic syndrome, and should be cured by smoking liberal doses of pot.
Seriously though, if people want to take drugs to change parts of their psyche that they want changed, I say go for it. But I'd rather not see everything labeled as a 'disease' to be 'treated'
Cryptopuritanical Nonsense (Score:3, Insightful)
Pleasure is not a disorder.
Love is not a disorder.
Feeling joy, experiencing satisfaction, the simplicity of happiness is not a disease to be stamped out, stressed over, or guilt tripped.
And the talents of others are not to be ridiculed, for all of our talents are ultimately meaningless by some standard.
Yours Truly,
Dan Kaminsky
DoxPara Research
http;//www.doxpara.com
War on drugs, war on terror... (Score:2, Funny)
Brought to you by Dick Cheney of the GWB Marionette Co. producing lifelike presidents for nearly four years.
oops (Score:3, Funny)
An unfortunate turn of phrase considering that slashdot readers were all over the article...
graspee
Sharon Apple said it best... (Score:2)
an old piece of wisdom (Score:3, Insightful)
Busted: the real reason I dont watch TV (Score:3, Funny)
Happily, age and information overload is taking its toll, and am now able to go camping (for example) with no source of information for days and not start sweating about what I'm missing. I think one day I will disconnect and never look back.
Not today though.
The Dopaminergic Reward Circuit (Score:2)
Kind of an OT joke (Score:5, Funny)
Q: How many kids with ADD does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: Hey! Wanna go ride bikes?!?
Similarly.... (Score:2)
That's the reason why when people have a word or a name on the tip of their tongue, there is a good chance they might say something like "wait wait! don't tell me!" It is SATISFYING to recall information instead. I know this very well, as I used to be a
It's true (Score:2, Interesting)
At home, I don't feel comfortable watching TV or movies. I need to be reading, writing, or playing a game as well.
I know several friends (all nerds/geeks/dorks) who feel the same way. They are bored by simply "chilling".
I definitely think this topic should be explored more, especially in the mental health field, since, said friends and myself, are
Nostalgia for the pre-wired age (Score:5, Interesting)
I loved to buy a few magazines and sit in a cafe and read them and write in my journal or sketch someone. People talked to people that they didn't know in public places. Now I choose my cafes according to the speed and expense of their WiFi connections and the top floor of my favorite cafe in Seattle resembles a computer lab. I don't often buy magazines as I usually already read the content online.
The last time I tried to spend an afternoon in a cafe without my laptop and a good book by an author I enjoyed, I found myself quickly getting very bored and cut the afternoon short. You can't go back I guess.
Slashdot itself is a perfect example of pseudo-attention deficit disorder. As I often post comments to stories late in the life of the story, I rarely think that many people read what I have to write as their focus has already passed on to the newer story. You can see it in how quickly people scramble to post their half-formed thoughts... which often get modded up higher than they deserve by virtue of being there first.
That's not a dig... just an observation.
Misleading summary of the article - another view (Score:3, Informative)
The summary presented here is misleading - it seizes upon one small aspect of the article and makes it out to be the focus of the entire thing. It completely ignores the social aspects of the subculture surrounding technology. Here's my capsule summary of the article:
Always On: Is Multi-tasking Addictive?
The NY Times has a long and detailed article about multi-tasking in a communications technology-infused lifestyle [nytimes.com]. The fundamental questions it is trying to address is whether or not these technologies are addictive, do they tap into an underlying pathology or personality type, or are they causing shorter attention spans and reduced productivity? Ubiquitous and wireless technology have created an ''Always On'' subculture [nytimes.com] that may have given rise to pseudo-attention deficit disorder or online compulsive disorder, according to doctors and psychchiatrists referenced in the article, but technology executives and some users argue that conclusion is dead wrong. It's a thought-provoking read and it may spur some Slashdotters to examine how reliant you have become on mobile phones, pagers, instant messaging, wireless networks, powerful computing and broadband Internet, or how entrenched these communications technologies are in your own lives.
I have a variation of this. (Score:3, Interesting)
And needless to say, the Internet is a joy for me. I'll have multiple windows open, be chatting with a couple other people, doing various other things, and my attention is *completely* occupied. This isn't a lack of attention span - I'm doing more things simultaneously than anyone with an exclusive focus could dream of pulling off. This isn't a disease - it's a boon.
I suspect that in all these "information addict" examples, if they were to dig into their childhood and psychology, they'd find these people are naturally ADD. Or, as I prefer to put it, naturally able to multitask. God help them if the psychiatrists ever "cure" their "disease" - they'd lose one of the greatest skills they have.
This is important! (Score:3, Funny)
Know a lot about everything, and expert in nothing (Score:3, Insightful)
I study 101 different subjects at a time, and remember most of what I learn. However, because I thrive on new subjects and variety I end up knowing lots about lots of subjects, but I'm not really an expert in any of them.
I can write a compiler, an operating system, a debugger, fix a car, write press releases, illustrate, do all of my own accounts, defend myself in a court of law.. yet I am almost unemployable by normal benchmarks because I can't say.. "OK, I'm the absolute best at doing X."
But as I've learnt, there are a lot of us 'generalists' about, and we tend to do better being self-employed or as consultants in our various fields.. and I'm doing okay. I am not sure if this is some sort of mental flaw, or just an aspect of my personality. I get bored easily.. and why shouldn't I?
Re:I'm addicted (Score:5, Funny)
No, the article is about being addicted to information. People who regularly read Slashdot are addicted to misinformation.
Oh. it sure as hell IS an addiction (Score:5, Interesting)
"The more information the better?"
Really?
Opportunity cost, my anonymous friend, opportunity cost.
Speaking as somebody with the email tag of "data omnivore", (used to be "Mycroft") I can assure you that while more information can be good, making money, dating, exercising, and a dozen other things, can be better.
"Hello everybody. My name is Rustin and I'm [slashdot.org] a dataholic [slashdot.org]."
Yeah, when you have an idle moment in the airport and you start reading the ingredient list on the granola bar because suddenly you care, then you know that the pursuit of data has passed beyond the rational and entered the, yes, that's right, addictive.
Rustin
Re:It's an addiction? (Score:2)
Differentiate between the person and the substance (Score:2, Informative)
Re:I ask you THIS! (Score:5, Insightful)
It's because the information isn't coming at the rate you'd like, and you feel like you're wasting your time doing B.S. tasks (exams, papers, projects, etc.) which really mean nothing in a 'real world' context.
Sure, it sucks. I barely scraped by myself, but I kept at it because it's the only game in town and I knew that if I dropped out I'd be stuck flipping burgers for the rest of my life.
Hang in there. Once you're done, you can learn things at a rate you can only dream of now.
Space exploration etc (Score:2)
Infotainment seems to be a significantly western condition.
Re:And I ask you THIS! (Score:2)
First, read the article. Then come back here.
Okay. One of the symptoms of this behavior is that you're processing multiple sources of stimulation simultaneously. Any classroom I ever attended actively discouraged this sort of behavior. You're expected to pay complete attention to your instructor. If you have a good instructor, this can be engaging. Otherwise, you may be bored, with no sanctioned method to alleviate it.
Given the text of your initial question, I'd say you should try really,
Re:And I ask you THIS! (Score:3, Insightful)
Yes, girls like smart guys more than baseball, but girls like stupid jocks (who love baseball) more than smart guys.
Re:Wonder if they perscribe ritalin for that (Score:3, Funny)
Nah ... (Score:2)
Donald Knuth on e-mail (Score:3, Interesting)
http://www-cs-faculty.stanford.edu/~knuth/email.ht ml [stanford.edu]
I draw an analogy to food. Human beings evolved in a calorie-poor environment. The optimal survival strategy was to scarf all the available calories and store as much fat as possible.
Now the human beings around me, at least, live in a calorie-rich environment. I've had to develop an ent