Made You Think
8: Get Off the Cocaine Pellet Dispenser: Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman
Podcast summary created with Snipd AI
Quick takeaways
- Our society is becoming increasingly focused on amusement and entertainment, leading to a culture where all public discourse takes the form of entertainment.
- Television presents information in a context-free and fragmented manner, leading to a decrease in attention spans and a shift in the way we think and communicate.
- Being well-informed about various topics does not necessarily lead to meaningful change if it does not result in concrete actions or decisions.
- Commercials have influenced the way children learn and perceive education, undermining traditional schooling and shaping consumer behavior.
- Information presented in news shows often lacks deeper context and understanding, making it difficult for viewers to discern what is important and valuable information.
Deep dives
The shift towards entertainment
The podcast episode discusses how all aspects of public discourse, including politics, religion, news, athletics, education, and commerce, have become entertainment-oriented. It emphasizes that our society is becoming increasingly focused on amusement and entertainment, leading to a culture where all public discourse takes the form of entertainment.
The comparison between Orwell and Huxley
The podcast episode explores the comparison between George Orwell's 1984 and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. It highlights Neil Postman's argument that Huxley's dystopian vision is more applicable to our society, with television serving as the soma that Huxley warned about. The episode also mentions Postman's viewpoint that Orwell's 1984 is not as relevant for our society.
The impact of television on information consumption
The podcast delves into how the rise of television has changed the way we receive and understand information. It points out that television presents information in a context-free and fragmented manner, leading to a decrease in attention spans and a shift in the way we think and communicate. The episode suggests that television has transformed our culture into a peekaboo world, where information lacks depth and context.
The importance of context and action
The podcast underscores the significance of context in the consumption of information. It emphasizes that information only matters if it has a direct impact on our actions and decision-making. The episode brings attention to the fact that being well-informed about various topics does not necessarily lead to meaningful change if it does not result in concrete actions or decisions.
The Impact of Television Commercials on Education
Television commercials have shaped the way children learn and perceive education. Sesame Street, for example, got kids hooked on learning through short commercials, but this type of learning undermines traditional schooling. Commercials have also influenced the way products are marketed, emphasizing psychological needs and emotional problems rather than the actual product being sold. This shift has had a significant impact on consumer behavior.
The Trivialization of Information and Context
Television and internet media have led to the trivialization of information, focusing on ephemeral and entertaining content rather than providing deeper context and understanding. News shows, in particular, present stories as entertainment, making it difficult for viewers to discern what is important and valuable information. The tendency towards sound bites and superficial understanding can be seen in politics, as complex ideas are distilled into catchy phrases for commercials and campaigns.
The Negative Effects of Television and Internet on Focus
Television and the internet have shortened attention spans and made it difficult to engage in focused, deep learning. The rapid-fire nature of commercials and online content, along with the constant need for new information, undermines the ability to sustain attention for extended periods of time. This has implications for education and learning, where sustained focus is necessary for critical thinking and comprehension. Additionally, the culture of instant gratification perpetuated by television and the internet hinders individuals' ability to engage in long-form learning and process more complex information.
The Influence of Commercials on Consumer Behavior
Commercials have a powerful influence on consumer behavior. By addressing the psychological needs of viewers, commercials shape desires and create emotional connections with products. They often present an emotional problem and position the product as the solution, tapping into consumers' aspirations and insecurities. This advertising strategy goes beyond simply highlighting product attributes and seeks to shape consumers' attitudes, behaviors, and preferences.
The Impact of Information Overload and Social Media on Attention Span
The podcast episode discusses the negative effects of information overload, social media, and technology on our attention span. It highlights how constantly being connected and bombarded with notifications and entertainment has led to shorter attention spans and decreased ability for deep thinking and creativity. The hosts express concern about the impact on productivity, education, and overall well-being. They also ponder on the potential future implications, such as income disparity and the need for individuals to develop strong attention skills for meaningful work.
Balancing Technology Use and Productivity
The podcast episode offers some suggestions for striking a balance between technology use and productivity. They mention the importance of controlling notifications and finding ways to limit distractions. They discuss techniques like snoozing notifications, blocking off work time on calendars, and changing from push to pull notifications. The hosts also touch on the role of education, emphasizing the need for teachers and parents to address the attention span issue and teach critical thinking skills. They admit that finding solutions to the technology overload problem may be challenging but encourage exploration of potential alternatives.
For some people, yes, computers are necessary and valuable, but for a lot of other people, they are simply accelerating and enabling this useless information consumption.
In this episode, we cover how the Internet, social media, television, and technology is ruining our abilities to think, reason, entertain ourselves, and what to do about it. Amusing Ourselves to Death is one of both of our favorite books, and it was fun to see how much it related to the other topics we’ve been covering.
We covered a wide range of topics, including:
- How various forms of information affect our perception
- The prevalence of fake news now
- People concerned about others more than themselves
- Technology negatively affecting our attention spans
- The psychological aspects of the media and commercials
- Minimizing technological distractions
- How technology has changed our conversations
Enjoy! If you want more on Amusing Ourselves to Death, be sure to check out Nat’s notes on the book and to pick up a copy yourself!
If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to listen to our episode on The Sovereign Individual, to better prepare yourself for the cyber-economic future, and to our episode on In Praise of Idleness, to reduce the guilt to work so much and to improve your leisure time.
Mentioned in the show:
- Orwell’s essays [2:37]
- USA Today [12:50]
- Buzzfeed [13:05]
- Business Insider [13:10]
- Lincoln and Douglas debates [17:09]
- Pulp Fiction [21:10]
- Nat’s article on most popular internet sites [28:20]
- Alexa [28:22]
- Nat’s 5-day water fast article [30:45]
- Nat’s article on Buzzfeed vs WSJ [33:46]
- Neil’s website [33:13]
- Fushimi-Inari-Taisha Shrine [40:59]
- The Daily Show [1:02:24]
- The Colbert Report [1:02:25]
- Jon Stewart interview fake news [1:05:05]
- Jon Stewart interview on Crossfire [1:05:37]
- Crossfire show [1:05:37]
- Free speech issue on campuses article [1:06:59]
- Trump’s policies [1:12:55]
- Trump’s speech in Virginia [1:13:35]
- The Google Memo [1:16:10] (Nat’s article on this)
- Made You Think episode on The Sovereign Individual [1:22:05]
- Estee Lauder [1:25:10]
- Sesame Street [1:27:50]
- Duolingo [1:29:18]
- Nat Chat podcast [1:31:12]
- Slack [1:36:18]
- Nat’s Facebook setup [1:41:06]
- Second Life [1:53:04]
Books mentioned:
- Amusing Ourselves to Death [1:05] (Nat’s Notes)
- Brave New World [1:32]
- 1984 [1:18]
- Antifragile [9:13] (Antifragile’s Made You Think episode) (Nat’s Notes)
- It’s Charisma, Stupid [9:25]
- Thomas Paine's Common Sense [21:56]
- The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck [22:41] (Nat’s Notes)
- 50 Shades of Grey [23:15]
- Musashi [31:36]
- The 4-Hour Workweek [1:36:50] (Nat’s Notes)
People mentioned:
- Neil Postman [1:07]
- George Orwell [1:18]
- Aldous Huxley [1:32]
- William Taft [7:20]
- Abraham Lincoln [7:25]
- Franklin D. Roosevelt [7:55]
- Donald Trump [8:30]
- Barack Obama [8:40]
- George Bush [8:41]
- Bill Clinton [8:43]
- Ronald Reagan [8:44]
- John F. Kennedy [8:47]
- Chris Christie [8:52]
- Paul Graham [9:24]
- Shakespeare [17:02]
- Stephen A. Douglas [17:09]
- Samuel L. Jackson [21:19]
- John Travolta [21:19]
- Thomas Paine [21:56]
- Mark Manson [22:39]
- James Patterson [26:54]
- Walden [37:41]
- Jim Kramer [51:55]
- Bernie Sanders [1:00:04]
- Plato [1:09:50]
- Socrates [1:09:50]
- Nassim Nicholas Taleb [1:10:12]
- Hillary Clinton [1:21:00]
- Scott Adams [1:21:07]
- Ted Cruz [1:21:07]
- Justin Mares [1:36:16]
- Tim Ferriss [1:36:56]
0:00 - Intro to the book’s discussion, an excerpt being read, and the book’s background.
4:14 - Discussion on how the form of the information portrayed affects how we perceive that information, and some of the informational form shifts that we’ve had so far.
6:57 - The visual components of information, and the power of appearance and charisma on success and popularity.
9:58 - Thoughts on the validity of written things versus other forms of information.
12:20 - Discussion on the media and the change of what now passes for quality knowledge.
17:17 - Talk on the lengthy Lincoln and Douglas debates in the 1800’s and how people were able to sit and maintain focus for upwards of seven hours. Also, discussion on how frequently television changes the screen on you.
21:48 - How much more of a book culture it was back in the day. Also, discussion on how reading and typing in full sentences improves speech.
24:49 - Before the internet, the ability to pay attention was much greater, but now there are constant distractions from the internet that diminish that. Also, talk on how many fewer people are reading longer and tougher books now.
31:59 - Discussion on information requiring much more context and evidence, and talk on the click-baity information out there. Talk on websites pushing information that maximizes ad revenue, instead of quality information.
35:28 - The impact that improved informational transfer speed has had on us, positively and negatively.
38:07 - Thoughts on how so many people are fixated on the lives of others, and the negative impact that social media and technology on us by disconnecting us from the present moment. Also, the social pressure of these things.
47:09 - How little the news affects our decisions and how little we actually do to change things that we don’t necessarily like.
52:05 - The large amount of cases where value is added to meaningless data, especially in the news. Also, the news constantly making small issues seem much larger and promoting fake scenarios.56:11 - Discussion on the “peek-a-boo” events that pop up quick, blow up, and then disappear, mostly for entertainment.
57:35 - How television has changed conversation, political changes, and the president using the media to get elected.
1:01:15 - People taking news sources seriously, even though the information is taken out of context and misconstrued.
1:06:40 - The issue with us magnifying small differences and making huge deals out of them and some examples of this.
1:11:33 - How frequent the story changes on the news or on social media “the infinite scroll”, and the media manipulating stories so often, making it extremely hard to trust them.
1:19:30 - Commercials being addressed to the psychological needs of the viewer and not the actual product being sold. Also, politicians using catchy sound bites to have people pay attention to them.
1:27:50 - Discussion on various methods of teaching and the huge number of flaws in these teaching methods. Also, how these widespread methods and technology negatively impact us and our attention span.
1:35:18 - How to have an effective schedule for minimizing these technological distractions and some thoughts on this.
1:41:44 - Discussion on us never needing to be bored again due to technology, and the possible negative impact this has on creativity.
1:44:58 - How much computers really help us, and how they accelerate the intake of useless information. Also, the possible future impacts that current technology will have on us and the workforce.
1:54:06 - Some things that will need to change in teaching systems to fix our shrinking attention spans.
1:57:34 - Wrap-up. Be sure to let us know your thoughts on the episode on Twitter!
Simply being able to pay attention will be an extremely valuable skill that ninety percent of us won’t have.
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