I am not a good audience member in a lecture, my mind wanders whenever the speaker makes a thought-provoking comment. The little grey cells seem bent upon chasing down the various nuances contained in said comment; my reverie will eventually end and I’ll come up for air wondering what on earth is going on in the speech.
Very frustrating and caused me no end of trouble at Uni – I became a past master of the thoughtful dribble. You know the sort of thing, the lecturer challenges you for a comment and so you engage in a little charade like “Well, sir (try to get the sex right), I’m just a little confused by how what you have said gels with your opening comments. Perhaps you could help me out by illustrating the link.”
It rarely worked, of course, but one has to make an effort. Appearances, old man, stiff upper lip.
I’m sure none of you share this particular vagary of the mind, you’re all incisive and capable of multi-tasking the old noodle, rarely sidetracked.
However, on the off chance that you understand this position I have a case to make which supports the need for books. There! A painless segue into the writer’s world.
Lectures, sermons and the visual media are useful for expounding an idea. But they do not allow for the time needed to pause and reflect on each topic as it comes along. A lot of movies, for example, make wonderful, thought provoking points – especially SF flicks – but we cannot stop mid film and lean over to our compadre and discuss said point. I exclude the random comments such as “Far out! Didja see that! How cool was that scene!”
Coffee afterwards may help.
The internet does allow for an argument to be paused yet, let’s face it, we don’t. It’s a skim and flick though medium, dipping a toe in and then moving on. I do not talk here of the forums and threads, they allow for the exploration of an idea but I would categorise these as a conversation, merely in an electronic medium.
No, the only technology which allows for a line of thought to be paused at any moment is the book, the printed page. How many of us have come across a thought provoking comment in a book, and then sat back, thumb in book with a mind off and galloping?
The danger with pursuing a focus on non-print technology lies in the subtle eroding of the thinker’s ability to perform deep analysis of an idea. Thinking takes effort and time, quiet contemplation and reflection. A linear information flow which does not allow the user to pause and perhaps go back over the material may lead to a society where we are unable to philosophize.
There is a joy in looking up from a book, a piece of fiction, and gazing out of a nearby window while mulling over what we have just read. A gentle muse.
My lecturers claimed I was daydreaming and never did accept my explanation that I was deep in thought, caught up in the joy of their academic journey. Can’t blame them, I didn’t buy it either.
Love this post! It is so true! but I have to add that I do try to multi-task, and sometimes I keep reading with my eyes while my brain goes off on some other tangent sparked by the book. It is only when I get to the end of the page and I have to turn over that I realise that while I saw all the words, my brain was elsewhere. And you are so right -in a book it is easy to go back to where your thoughts got triggered and re-read, in a movie you have no idea what is going on!
So true, Natalie. So very true. That moment when we realise that we have just read a page and have no idea what happened. Bits of my life fit the same pattern.
terry
Ha! This brought back so many embarrassing memories of trying to rejoin a lecture and say something useful and end up making a total fool of myself. Why oh why did I feel I needed to contribute, instead of just sitting there looking like I’d been listening the whole time?
Sorry, what was that? I drifted off for a bit.
A wonderful argument for the book, but of course the same is true of the e-book. I’ve just finished reading Kim Stanley Robinson’s lush, meaty new novel “Galileo’s Dream” on my (brand-new, shiny) Kindle and spent a decent chunk of time staring vacantly while my brain processed what I’d just read.
The capacity to stop and contemplate is one of the reasons my dear hubby and I frequently skip the theatre release of a movie and wait for the Blu-ray or DVD. We do like the pause button! It is an absolute necessity when watching films like Gosford Park or TV series like The West Wing. Ahhhh… I think I have just figured out what I’m going to do this afternoon!
Ha, yes, the book still rules! I haven’t gone to kindle yet, maybe because of my love for paper, but to me any story is wonderful and movies are magic. In our house the pause button is a necessity because my partner does feel the uncontrollable need to discuss as it happens.
I don’t lose time if the story is good but a lecture, a workshop, a seminar, even a lengthy news broadcast, is an open invitation for my mind to wander through my mental stores of more interesting stuff. Extra credits should be given for this talent – not everyone can do it.