The Cost Of Paying Attention By Matthew Crawford

In “Ways of Seeing”, John Berger, an English art critic, argues that images are important for the present-day by saying, “No other kind of relic or text from the past can offer such direct testimony about the world which surrounded other people at other times. In this respect images are more precise and richer literature” (10). John Berger allowed others to see the true meaning behind certain art pieces in “Ways of Seeing”. Images and art show what people experienced in the past allowing others to see for themselves rather than be told how an event occurred. There are two images that represent the above claim, Arnold Eagle and David Robbins’ photo of a little boy in New York City, and Dorothea Lange’s image of a migratory family from Texas; both were taken during the Great Depression.

“The words ‘silent’ and ‘listen’ share the same letters for a reason: to truly listen... one must take the time, be approachable and be silent” (Shapiro). Silence is an important aspect to life. Some people think that quiet people aren’t powerful because their voice isn’t heard as much as others; however, quiet people are indeed one of the most important people in society. They are observant of their surroundings, they’re wise, giving good advice to others, and they’re good listener.

Silence is more important today than it has ever been due to the growing issue our society faces known as “the tyranny of noise”, a phrase coined by Benedictine

While becoming a valedictorian can be an honor to those who receive the title, others are debating whether or not valedictorians should continue to exist, or if it should switch from being exclusive to one person in a high school senior class to multiple high-achieving students with similar scores, GPAs, and effort shown throughout their high school tenure. In “Best in Class” by Margaret Talbot, the author emphasizes the idea that having only one valedictorian motivates students due to the prestige associated with the title, as shown through her use of logos and ethos throughout her essay.

In the book, The Conscious Reader, there are many stories by many different authors. All these stories are different but at the same time they are alike. They all in some way deal with education. Whether it is using education, gaining education, or giving education, they all have their way to show that education is important.

Media impacts our lives everyday. The average 14-to-28 year-old will be exposed to about 3,000 ads every day. Ben Franklin once said that nothing is certain is this life except death and taxes. I believe it is now safe to assume we can add advertisements to that list now. We are literally bombarded with them. After seeing all the advertisements I am led to believe that they are the most carefully constructed of all human communication, being it the most expensive too. In 2004, according to www.answers.com, advertisement was in excess of $450 billion in the United States alone. It is not our fault though that these advertisements display messages that we cannot perceive. When we see an ad, our conscious mind will filter out the things it cannot deal with and make an acceptable idea or image that is made conscious. This is

　　In the essay “Reading and Thought”, Dwight MacDonlad talked about the kind of poor reading people are attached to in modern society. MacDonald believed reading materials such as Times and New York Times are too overwhelming for the readers. Readers tend to skim through the reading materials because most of the reading do not have any connections with their daily lives. Moreover, MacDoanld claimed that the readings people do these days are not thoughtful. The readings are rather irrelevant toward the readers. It is because the journalists to produce dull pieces of readings which are meant to be skimmed through without having too much thoughts involved. As the journalists do not have much consideration of the materials they produced. To the journalists the readings they produce are just a series of news that should be read driftly and left behind with no thoughful idea needed to be informed. These effects caused modern society to have a poor reading habits because people do not reflect and give time to think about the readings they did. Readers casually accept the readings even though they do not have provide any resourceful information for the readers.

In Chapter 3, Listening, Gregory discusses the importance of listening to the speaker. Gregory points out that although the words “hearing” and “listening” are used interchangeably, they have two separate connotations. Hearing is picking up soundwaves with our ears, while listening is making sense of what the speaker is saying with our mind. I have now grasped the concept of what listening actually is. Two behaviors that I have observed or participated in are electronic usage during a speech or presentation and becoming distracted. As a result, I have decided to emphasize the importance of rejecting electronic intrusions and resisting distractions.

James Petersen (2007) uses five parts to describe the talking and listening to help us process a better way of communicating and understanding each other. They are provided to help us connect in our relationships with others. According to Petersen, most of us think we listen well, but we don’t. Not

While reading Sam Anderson’s “In Defense of Distraction”, I sensed that the he was trying to make aware to his reader’s that as we continue to move forward as a technologically advanced society, our generation’s attention span diminishes gradually. Taking into consideration the “Suspend Judgment” analytical move I managed not to jump to conclusions and really grasp the idea that he was trying to put out. At first, he did make a really good first impression at the beginning of the essay. Anderson wrote his introduction as if he was having a one on one conversation with his reader’s. He asked them to block out the distractions and devote themselves to the essay. I enjoyed the first two interviews with David Meyer and Winifred Gallagher. In his

Spending spiritual time in silence can be difficult for many individuals because it gives them time to think and be present in the moment. Being silent also requires solitude

Remaining silent is an essential component of communication based on listening skill. This skill encourage people to participate, giving attention to listen to other people when they talking without interruption (Hybels & Weave 2008). More over, as people they make an ethical agreement to listen to the other, they focused their attention on them without acknowledging competing thoughts (Gamble & Gamble 2013). It is widely recognized that, listening can be defined as paying attention to other people when they talk. In addition, as human beings

Finding a completely silent environment for meditation might be a pain for some people. However, if you are unable to meditate in a noisy environment, make sure that you purchase a noise cancelling earphone. A lot of people prefer a completely silent location for meditation, however, some like to meditate alongside cool music without

Right brain? Left brain? Both sides are very different and have their own characteristics that help determine what a persons potential strengths and weaknesses will be. “The human brain is split into two halves, each with its own unique abilities. This phenomenon, discovered three decades ago by Nobel Prize winner Dr. Roger Sperry and his associates at the California Institute of Technology, is known as brain lateralization” (Raudsepp, 1992, p. 85). Certain characteristics of a person can go so much deeper then just hobbies that a person enjoys. Brain function can play a major role in how a person perceives their surroundings, such as if someone like to draw or do math. On the other side of that if a person is very analytical and good at subjects in school such as math it could be linked to which side of their brain is dominant.

The period between the wars was a very difficult time in Germany. The currency was enormously depreciated and there were extreme poverty, depression, and political instability. When the Nazis took power in 1933, horror was their method of achieving their goals. Fear and violence became very common among a society that was still in shock after the First World War. In the book The Reader, by Bernhard Schlink, one of the main themes is a conflict with the inner-self. This is seen throughout the book when Michael is young and indecisive between spending time with Hanna or his new friends, when Hanna is on trial and does not know whether to confess her illiteracy or accept being declared guilty, and finally when an older Michael is trying to decide on whether he should save Hanna or respect her dignity.