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1-Page Summary of The World Beyond Your Head
Overview
A decreasing attention span, shattered mental lives and a sense of distraction are all issues that we have to deal with. These points focus on the reasons why we are losing touch with the world beyond our heads, and explain how to become an individual in an age of mass distraction.
These points will also reveal what a craftsperson can teach an office worker about attention; why managers who are stressed out would want to have sex with robots; and how narcissists might want to have sex with robots.
Big Idea #1: We’re currently living in a crisis of attention.
Technology is everywhere. We are constantly surrounded by gadgets, which makes it difficult to focus on anything else. Thanks to this situation, we have developed a need for constant stimulation of the brain.
This need has a big effect on our orienting response, which is what makes us pay special attention to anything that enters our field of vision. We evolved this important survival instinct to help us avoid predators.
The problem is that we’re constantly being bombarded with new stimuli, and it’s getting harder to focus on what’s important. This constant stimulation makes us crave more of it, even though there are times when we don’t need or want any at all. The fact that we take our ability to pay attention for granted only adds to the problem. Attention is crucial in how well people think and create things.
Our attention span is limited, and it has been reduced by the amount of information we receive every day. In fact, there’s so much information being thrown at us that adults who grew up without this constant stream are even worse off.
We also generally do less of things that require a lot of attention these days. We don’t read books from cover to cover as much, for example. This is impoverishing our lives because paying attention is something you build by doing activities like reading books.
In today’s world, certain skills like fixing bikes or sewing are becoming less common. People just don’t have the patience for them anymore and would rather spend their time engaged in activities that happen inside of their heads. However, attention is crucial to success; it allows us to thrive. Studies have shown that children who can control where they direct their attention are more successful as adults.
Big Idea #2: We’re easily manipulated – so much so that we often manipulate ourselves.
When faced with a big decision, like which career to pursue or retirement plan to choose, economists assume we simply compare the pros and cons of each option. However, that’s not true. Our behavior is greatly affected by context. When we have a range of options to choose from, how those options are presented matters a lot.
Behavioral economists have found that people don’t always make the best financial decisions. For example, when choosing a retirement plan, people aren’t just concerned with whether it’s a good investment; they also want to know if they’ll be automatically enrolled in it. People are much more likely to enroll in a 401(k) plan if they’re automatically signed up for it and can opt out of it than if they have to actively sign up themselves.
That’s why companies spend extra money to get their products displayed at eye level in supermarkets. People tend to buy the first thing they see, so being at eye level is an advantage for a product.
All in all, we are easily manipulated. However, you can even manipulate yourself to enhance your concentration! Craftsmen like cooks and carpenters do this because they need to be focused on their work at all times. They don’t just concentrate harder—they strategically create environments conducive to focused work.
