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| MoMa Perpetual Calendar |
I often disagree with mainstream trends and notions. I
believe our society regularly goes off in directions that put us further away
from the happiness everyone is looking for.
One such trend is the amount of data surrounding us and the
speed with which the next bit of information replaces the last one. There is so
much news and so many fads, and we are rushing along with them, changing our
commitments to diets, work-outs, fashion, extracurricular activities and our
ideas. Sometimes we don’t even get to the ones we are interested in, because we
already are on to the next thing. How can people develop strong convictions
and/or opinions if they don’t spend at least some time with the ideas that form
said convictions/opinions?
When we read a thick book, we can’t help but spend some time
with it. And by the virtue of time spent thinking about it, the meaning settles
in, spurring ideas of our own (assuming it is that kind of book :)).
When we watch a screen version of the same thing, we spend only two hours with
it, and it just can’t take root and affect us as much.
People nowadays don’t get the opportunity to spend some time
with one idea, to mull it over, to explore it fully, and to understand our
attitude toward it. If we spend some time, we may find that our initial
reaction to some outside event or idea may evolve, deepen or even change
altogether.
Of course, as with everything, moderation is key. While
clearing the mind of all thoughts seems impossible and impractical for our
lives, bringing too much stimulation and thoughts will result in them
cancelling each other out and just cluttering our heads with chaos.
With that in mind, I will post to this blog once a week. I
hope it will give everybody a chance to give each topic enough attention, to
feel a personal reaction to it, and of course, to comment.
Do not completely agree: information is king! Sometimes it is overwhelming but I still remember days when doing research meant going multiple times to library finding microfilms making copies, etc. Internet changed all that and some. You just have to learn to filter noise and see the essence.
ReplyDeleteAlex,
Deletethe key, of course, is moderation. I agree that the Internet is great for a quick research (although sometimes I feel that after doing research on the Internet, spending hours and looking through several websites, I come out with tons of unnecessary information and very little new knowledge that I actually was looking for). It is not the Internet per se, but the way we are inundated with information, attacked by it, enticed by it, and ultimately, instead of focusing on something, we are mostly distracted by it. I agree that being able to filter the noise and see the essence are great qualities.