[stylist] NY Times Article daydream

Fri Jan 6 19:41:08 UTC 2012

We are its disciplinarian, or so we try :).

Brad

On 1/5/2012  03:16 PM Donna Hill said...
>Brad,
>Daydreaming does have to be kept in it's place -- generally, for me, that's
>when I'm out walking. Before meetings or performances, what works for me is
>some power thinking to get my head ready with the things I want to
>accomplish clearly defined. Since I am basically a hermit, I really need to
>get myself focused before stepping out into the real world. *grin*
>
>I'm looking forward to your Steven King review. I've never read a thing he's
>written, and I'm not a fan of horror, which is what I think of him as
>writing. Anyway, lately, I've been thinking I should really read something
>of his just to keep up some appearance of being well-read.
>Donna
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>Behalf Of Brad Dunsé
>Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2012 3:26 PM
>To: Writer's Division Mailing List
>Subject: Re: [stylist] NY Times Article daydream
>
>Donna,
>
>As a business guy, sometimes that sort of
>daydream, run off at the head can be odd. Today I
>was pointedly more aware of it.  Once or twice a
>year I meet up with my campus contact person to
>go over stuff. I get there early  usually. Today
>I was a half hour early and was just vegging out,
>daydreaming about stuff and then I thought,
>"Dude, you better get it together in what you're
>going to talk about and stop this rambling
>thought." I find if I let myself do the daydream
>bit, trying to swing into business mode doesn't
>work. I'll come across as a complete idiot,
>carrying out a conversation about
>as   comfortable as showering with socks
>on.  Usually later  kicking myself for not asking
>about this or that. For me, the daydreams kind of
>lull my head into a different world that needs a
>bit of time to transition to  the sharp, firm
>handshake business meeting. As I sat there
>today  daydreaming before a meeting, just a
>little, 'grin', I thought, manh, if I could get
>paid to daydream, that'd be awesome. 'smile'. I
>thought of it because I'd been engrossed in a
>Stephen King book which I'll do a review of sorts
>when done. Never done a book review so that ought
>be interesting. At any rate daydreaming is
>definitely a good tool, and personally a land of
>no responsibility for me. It's the coming out of
>it and the realization I've got to do stuff that is a let down. 'big smile'.
>
>Brad
>
>
>On 1/5/2012  12:14 PM Donna Hill said...
> >Brad,
> >He's right on the money about the need for daydreaming or unconnected time.
> >I think of it as having my brain in neutral, which I don't do enough
> >anymore, in part because of my digital world.
> >
> >I often like to tell the story of how J.K. Rowling came up with the Harry
> >Potter series. She was traveling by train without even a notebook to write
> >in when she came up with the idea. The journey proved to be an essential
> >part of the process, thinking through the plot angles and characters.
> >
> >Several years ago, I wrote an article for American Chronicle about the need
> >for "empathetic thought" in the writing process. It's the same thing
>really.
> >
> >
> >I was happy to hear that some scholarly work is being done on such things.
> >Thanks for sharing,
> >Donna
> >
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> >Behalf Of Brad Dunsé
> >Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2012 7:35 AM
> >To: Writer's Division Mailing List
> >Subject: [stylist] NY Times Article daydream
> >
> >Per a recent topic here. Don't let the title
> >diswade you, though it does deal with technology
> >it also talks about daydream/creativity.
> >
> >BITS. Resolving to Practice Some iPhone Abstinence.
> >
> >By NICK BILTON. Email: bilton at nytimes.com. Last
> >week, I drove to Pacifica, a beach community just
> >south of San Francisco, where I climbed a large
> >rocky hill as the sun descended on the horizon.
> >It painted a typically astounding California
> >sunset across the Pacific Ocean. What did I do next?
> >
> >What any normal person would do in 2011: I pulled
> >out my iPhone and began snapping pictures to
> >share on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
> >
> >I spent 10 minutes trying to compose the perfect
> >shot, moving my phone from side to side,
> >adjusting light settings and picking the perfect filter.
> >
> >Then, I stopped. Here I was, watching this
> >magnificent sunset, and all I could do is peer at
> >it through a tiny four-inch screen.
> >
> >What's wrong with me? I thought. I can't seem to
> >enjoy anything without trying to digitally
> >capture it or spew it onto the Internet.
> >
> >Hence my New Year's resolution: In 2012, I plan
> >to spend at least 30 minutes a day without my
> >iPhone. Without Internet, Twitter, Facebook and
> >my iPad. Spending a half-hour a day without
> >electronics might sound easy for most, but for
> >me, 30 unconnected minutes produces the same
> >anxious feelings of a child left accidentally at the mall.
> >
> >I made this resolution out of a sense that I
> >habitually reached for the iPhone even when I
> >really didn't need to, when I might have just
> >enjoyed an experience, like the sunset, without
> >any technology. And after talking to people who
> >do research on subjects like this, I realized
> >that there were some good reasons to give up a little tech.
> >
> >For example, I was worried that if I did not
> >capture that beautiful sunset and stuff it into my phone, I'd forget it.
> >
> >Even with something as beautiful as a sunset,
> >forgetting is really important as a mental
> >hygiene,' said Viktor Mayer-Schonberger, a
> >professor of Internet governance at Oxford
> >University and the author of the book 'Delete:
> >The Virtue of Forgetting in the Digital Age.
> >
> >That things in our past become rosier over time
> >is incredibly important,' he added. As we forget,
> >our memories abstract and our brain goes through
> >a cleansing process. Mr. Mayer-Schonberger said
> >that keeping a perpetual visual diary of
> >everything could slow down our brains' purging process.
> >
> >Constantly interacting with our mobile devices
> >has other drawbacks too. There are more pictures
> >in my iPhone of that 45-minute hike at Pacifica
> >than most families would have taken on a two-week
> >vacation before the advent of digital cameras.
> >
> >As a result, I had no time to daydream on that
> >hike, and daydreams, scientists say, are imperative in solving problems.
> >
> >Jonah Lehrer, a neuroscientist and the author of
> >the soon-to-be-released book, 'Imagine: How
> >Creativity Works,' said in a phone interview that
> >our brains often needed to become inattentive to
> >figure out complex issues. He said his book
> >discussed an area of the brain scientists call
> >'the default network' that was active only when
> >the rest of the brain was inactive - in other words, when we were
> >daydreaming.
> >
> >Letting the mind wander activates the default
> >network, he said, and allows our brains to solve
> >problems that most likely can't be solved during a game of Angry Birds.
> >
> >Like everyone else, I really can't imagine life
> >without that little computer in my pocket,' he
> >added. However, there is an importance to being
> >able to put it aside and let those daydreams
> >naturally perform the cognitive functions your brain needs.
> >
> >Jonathan Schooler, a professor of psychology at
> >the University of California, Santa Barbara who
> >has focused his research on daydreaming, put it
> >this way: 'Daydreaming and boredom seem to be a
> >source for incubation and creative discovery in
> >the brain and are part of the creative incubation process.
> >
> >I don't intend to give up my technology entirely,
> >but I want to find a better balance. For me, it's
> >that 30 minutes a day for daydreaming.
> >
> >Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go and tell my
> >Twitter followers about my New Year's resolution.
> >
> >This is a more complete version of the story than
> >the one that appeared in print.
> >
> >
> >
> >Brad Dunsé
> >
> >""Life is too important to be taken seriously."" --Oscar Wilde
> >
> >http://www.braddunsemusic.com
> >
> >http://www.facebook.com/braddunse
> >
> >http://www.twitter.com/braddunse
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>Brad Dunsé
>
>"If you're fishing buddy says 'Get me a hook will
>ya?' and you spill your tackle box reaching for
>your writing bag..." You might be a songwriter. --Capt'n Frank
>
>http://www.braddunsemusic.com
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Brad Dunsé

"You become that to which you are most exposed." --Unknown

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