The Semicolons in Our Lives are Doing Battle with Our Twitter Brains

Evolution has hardwired us to read but there is no genetic map for it. The “expert reading brain” comes into being through parents, teachers and self-study. Its thickly branched and interconnected cells are the result of deep, focused attention and concentration on the pages of a non-networked book or article. According to Nicholas Carr (The Shallows) and a chorus of neuroscientists, hyperlinked reading triages our attention inviting multi-tasking and the potential for a “techno-brain” less able to deal with complexity.


Should we be worried? Yes, because the problems we face are “swampier”. These “semi-colon” situations have no technical recipe upon which we can draw. We have to learn as we go and that requires a deep thinker type of brain and skill.

Our workplaces past and present have never been very friendly to slow, concentrated thinking. Packed agendas and back-to back meetings in a hurry up, make-a-decision-fast atmosphere, most often create too much noise for creative thought. In the not-too-distant past, holidays, evenings and weekends offered some respite for re-charging and reflection. But, now the 24/7 social media tsunami is escalating the battle with our evolutionary need to concentrate to survive. Or is it?

We are evolving as did our ancestors. How we do so might be more the point.

Personally I am a Twitter and blog fan. I find those media stimulating and information-rich. I am learning more because of my interconnections with others. These links are not distracting. They instead spark all kinds of ideas which I record. They lead to research pathways I might never have discovered. Put simply – I have added to not subtracted from my thinking brain.

However, I do follow a structure which helps my “expert reading brain” to stay alive:

1. I seldom click on hyperlinks until I have read the whole article;

2. I take notes highlighting key points and then adding my own thoughts about their meaning for my habits and challenges;

3. If I don’t have time to concentrate when I encounter the new information, I set aside time in the evening or morning – about an hour every day – to review and focus on the ideas flowing through Twitter and other sources;

4. Although I have a Kobo, I plan to mix reading “regular” with e-books. Apparently the hands-on nature of a “real” book, like handwriting, is a more efficient and possibly meaningful route to our brains.

Nicholas Christakis, professor of medicine and sociology at Harvard University, claims that we are in the very early stages of the new biosocial science. It is helping us to understand why we behave for better or worse.

At the heart of the matter is wisdom. Without it, we are only left with information. To quote Confucius:

Wisdom can be learned by reflection, the noblest; imitation, the easiest and experience, the bitterest.

We need all three.

Soul Force Rising

Sometimes I wish I had a much broader liberal arts education. The events in Egypt have opened another awareness door bringing bits of knowledge about the world from the background to the foreground. But what’s the real story? How did it come to this where young people are risking life and limb for the sake of a better life?

Back in the 1920s, Gandhi called it “soul force” or power devoted to justice and truth. When people are not treated with respect and dignity, when a leader’s moral authority no longer is directed to the interests and needs of ordinary people, the soul force rises. It is ingrained in our beings.

There is typically a spark that unleashes the energy of the simmering soul force. For Gandhi and many other Indian leaders it was April 10, 1919 when 379 demonstrators were massacred in an enclosed public square in Amritsar, India by a British General, Reginald Dyer. An estimated ten thousand had gathered in Jallianwala Bagh square to hear pro-Gandhi speakers.

In the background, the city was in chaos, with groups of Hindus and Muslims together burning buildings and tearing up railroad tracks in defiance of the rule of the “Raj”. Meanwhile Dyer, incensed that people had ignored his banning of all large public gatherings, barked an order to open fire (for ten minutes) directly into the densely packed crowd in Jallianwala Bagh. Screaming men, women and children ran for safety but there was nowhere to go in a space no larger than Trafalgar square. The narrow streets quickly became clogged bottlenecks.

Churchill’s sense of justice was shaken as was Gandhi’s. But Dyer was never held to account for his actions. The subsequent investigations concluded that martial law was justified and blamed Gandhi’s movement for undermining the rule of law. Although Churchill, who was not a fan of Gandhi's tactics and philosophy, tried every angle to see Dyer punished, the culture of the military won the day.

But, the spark of the soul force was struck. Gandhi so sympathized with the victims of Amritsar that he decided to call an end to his “splendid isolation” and join mainstream Indian politics.

It appears this is what is happening in Egypt. Too many injustices have piled up. The spark of Tunisia plus the kindling of social media ignited a firestorm.

As in society, can this happen in an organization? You bet. The difference is that the organization simply dies---goes bankrupt due to management malfeasance. Or, it languishes in mediocrity, increasing its numbers of beaten up employees while the courageous and the young people flee the premises.

We are all connected by the soul force. It is potent. When enabled for the sake of “the good society”, a concept espoused by the former Professor of Economics Emeritus at Harvard, John Kenneth Galbraith, it spreads as a powerful and positive force for change for the benefit of many.

Today, we have a powerful enabler: social media.

Sources:
Arthur Herman, Gandhi & Churchill: The Epic Rivalry that Destroyed an Empire and Forged an Age.

John Kenneth Galbraith, The Good Society: The Humane Agenda.

The Allure of Twitter: At Least Three Reasons

Twitter has me wrapped around its little finger. I avoided venturing into its realm for at least a year and a half after one of my tech gurus urged me to do so. Twitter’s apparent silliness stopped me dead in my tracks. Who on earth would want to know what I am doing right now? So the conventional wisdom went in my circle of colleagues. No peer pressure there.

The hardest part of any new “thing” (writing the first few words of a report, trying a different technology, beginning a project…) is getting started. By chance while at a conference perusing the books for sale I discovered Twitter Power by Joel Comm. Just for me, I mused because I did not have a clue how to crack into the Twitter world. Once I delved into Twitter Power I knew “tweeting” was for me.

Tweeting is like an information stock exchange: The more I participate, the richer my own learning. It’s chaotic, for sure. But, I get to pick what I want when I want.

Tweeting is perfect for avid readers: I get to share ideas from my broad array of reading resources as they inspire me. On the run so to speak. I don’t have to write a report on the ideas or a coherent blog. Eventually I will but for anyone who is interested, there they are in raw form.

Tweeting is an easy way to be part of various communities: To belong and share is a primal human driver. We know ourselves through others. The Twitter community opens up the world literally much faster than any other means I have used to date.

Twitter is a cornucopia of swirling ideas and in the field experiences. As an academic at large, who values real data from the trenches, it couldn’t get better.