Critical Thinking Blog #4

I guess I could go on another rant about 'junk thought' in this blog as I did in the Pre-reading blog, but I'd really rather not. I was flipping through Jacoby's book and I noticed the title of chapter 10: "The Culture of Distraction" and so I thought I would entertain you all with a blog about my thoughts on distractions.

Ah, distractions. Some days I can not get farther away from distractions, especially as the summer nears. I already feel like I have checked out of this semester and my brain is on summer mode. I believe that electronics are one of the biggest distractions to just about everyone, unless you are one of those who refuses to keep up with the times in terms of technology. Top distractions for me: cell phone, Internet, television, food, and my aquarium. I definitely think that Internet is the new and most used distraction of all. With more and more students using computers and the Internet for homework assignments, websites like Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter tend to pull student's attention away from their homework (myself included).

I have also noticed the extreme obsessiveness of X-Box Live. I seriously know people who spend an obscene amount of hours everyday playing video games. I definitely think that video games are a very big distraction for people of all ages, young and old.

Do I think that these distractions are detrimental to people? My answer is a little complicated because I think that is completely dependent upon the individual. Personally, I get distracted all the time, but I can always pull myself back together and get the important things done, when they need to be done. I also don't allow distractions to stray me away from important things in life. There are many people in the world like me! However, there are also many people who cannot release the grip of distractions over their lives. They allow the unimportant things to impede on the important things and therefore, leave them behind and at a loss [e.g. procrastination (which we are all guilty of, but some can control)].

I am actually quite interested to see how Jacoby views distractions, so I guess I will find out, along with the rest of the class, when I get to chapter ten! Happy reading everyone! :)

Pre-Reading Blog #4

To me, 'junk thought' is pretty self-explanatory: useless/worthless thoughts. It also makes me think of all the trivial ideas and questions that travel through my head with no real intentions. I wouldn't say that thinking in general is worthless, but I do think that there are certain things that are not really worth thinking too much about. Then again, I also think that 'junk thought' is subjective because things are never equally important to everyone.

Death, to me, is one of the most pointless things to think about (obviously, making sure everything is in order is important). I just never understood people who spend their time wondering how or when they are going to die. Another thing that I believe is 'junk thought' is celebrity news. Ah, geez. I cannot stand that their are so many shows dedicated to following the lives of celebrities. Talk about a definite waste of brain space!

In terms of how 'junk thought' influence people, it's hard to say. Everyone looks at ideas differently and therefore, it all affects people in different ways. Many people can allow 'junk thought' to flow in and out of their brains without a second thought about it. Then there are the other people who, when 'junk thought' enters their brain, they can do nothing but think about the trivial information and ideas filling their minds.

Why do people waste their valuable brain capacities on ideas and questions that hold no true value?