I love that you mentioned TikTok withdrawals. The chemical response in the brain to the constant dopamine hits is addictive. We literally train ourselves to be distracted and unfocused. Good work my man.
Thanks for the reminder to refine my information diet. Will add YouTube and X to my no-notifications list. And actually finish those books I ordered a while back. Great essay Baxter!
This captures something I’ve been thinking a lot about: “For the mentally obese, reading feels like waterboarding: torturous and not appetizing.”
That is, how do I restore and expand my attention? How do I learn to be content when most people would be “bored”? Reading books (or continuing to read books in my case) sounds like the answer.
The books ARE the sexy option.
So weird/funny that chewing gum is a hack for reading books??? 😅
Yeah, apparently! I think it serves as a small baseline distraction. Surely didn't help me though :)
I love that you mentioned TikTok withdrawals. The chemical response in the brain to the constant dopamine hits is addictive. We literally train ourselves to be distracted and unfocused. Good work my man.
Exactly Lee!! It's unbelievable how this is a norm.
Love this dive into information diets Baxter!
Mental obesity is a great term for it.
Going to be thinking about my books as salads and healthier food options from now on.
Thanks for reading Mohammad!!
Great viewpoint Baxter. The only way to get better is to stop doing the thing that made you sick.
Hey John thank you for reading!
This is a very thought provoking essay, Baxter. You present the problem, AND you offer some indicators to possible solutions.
It was already good when I read the draft, but the final product is amazingly well crafted!
Thank you Karena! I really appreciate your feedback and support!!
Thanks for the reminder to refine my information diet. Will add YouTube and X to my no-notifications list. And actually finish those books I ordered a while back. Great essay Baxter!
This captures something I’ve been thinking a lot about: “For the mentally obese, reading feels like waterboarding: torturous and not appetizing.”
That is, how do I restore and expand my attention? How do I learn to be content when most people would be “bored”? Reading books (or continuing to read books in my case) sounds like the answer.
Great essay Baxter. Thanks for writing.
Thanks for reading Jack! It really does feel like torture if you’re not used to reading books, which I think is a warning sign!
Being ill is icky. Being ill when you are away from your bed and your pillow not good either. Wishing you better soon!