Thank you so much for saying so! You are right, this whole thing is just crammed full of ironies. Not least that I’m writing about loneliness just as I’m starting to realize I’m definitely not the only one staring out the window. How was your commute? Hope not as bleak as I’ve painted!
Mate, sitting on the 9:17 from Surbiton in a (metaphorical) spacesuit wrestling with your own brain sounds like ny idea of absolute torture, but you’ve basically nailed why everyone else is glued to their screens.
Collectively hiding from that "dead fizz" and the absolute horror of having to ask a stranger what "sinewy" means. It’s pretty brutal to realize that the exact same instant irritation that old bloke had on the Tube is what kids see when we look up from a screen, but fair play for “raw-dogging” (still not sure what it means) the commute for weeks to figure it out.
How well do you think - feeling lonely and trapped in a cold astronaut suit while everyone else is zombified by neuroscientist-approved algorithms sells the whole "mindfulness" thing? – I love it personally but it’s a tough crowd out there.
And... I desperately need to know how much cheese it takes to train Jumble.
Since I wrote the article about Jumble, he has backtracked on his previous excellence, so unfortunately the how much cheese does it take to train him answer is still blowing in the wind.
Re mindfulness. You make a beyond excellent point here. I am fascinated by this. I got a little close to this area in my 80 hours and 100 hours posts, but my suspicion is that mindfulness is exceptionally useful against the phone, but that it’s been wrapped up in so much fluff as a term that people understandably recoil from it.
It’s not just a branding problem, For me, it’s wrongly described as a trait one can decide to have, rather than a skill to train in. And also I think the way it’s taught needs a bit of a refresh - the phone is such a massive change to our mental life, and nearly all of the writing about this predates it.
And thank you! It’s a tough crowd out there, but the spacesuit is warmer each day :-)
It’s funny that I found when I was pregnant that it acted as a bit of a conversation starter on the train when I used to commute to Leeds. I had some really fun train journeys chatting with (mostly) women of all ages about having children.
Ah yeah young kids are the best ice breaker, any outing with them is guaranteed to lead some sort of chat. Will be interesting to hear what you’ve found!
Somewhat ironically I normally read your Substack on my phone… on my commute. But I love the content 🤩
Thank you so much for saying so! You are right, this whole thing is just crammed full of ironies. Not least that I’m writing about loneliness just as I’m starting to realize I’m definitely not the only one staring out the window. How was your commute? Hope not as bleak as I’ve painted!
Mate, sitting on the 9:17 from Surbiton in a (metaphorical) spacesuit wrestling with your own brain sounds like ny idea of absolute torture, but you’ve basically nailed why everyone else is glued to their screens.
Collectively hiding from that "dead fizz" and the absolute horror of having to ask a stranger what "sinewy" means. It’s pretty brutal to realize that the exact same instant irritation that old bloke had on the Tube is what kids see when we look up from a screen, but fair play for “raw-dogging” (still not sure what it means) the commute for weeks to figure it out.
How well do you think - feeling lonely and trapped in a cold astronaut suit while everyone else is zombified by neuroscientist-approved algorithms sells the whole "mindfulness" thing? – I love it personally but it’s a tough crowd out there.
And... I desperately need to know how much cheese it takes to train Jumble.
Brilliant writing as usual – loved it.
Thank you so much!
Since I wrote the article about Jumble, he has backtracked on his previous excellence, so unfortunately the how much cheese does it take to train him answer is still blowing in the wind.
Re mindfulness. You make a beyond excellent point here. I am fascinated by this. I got a little close to this area in my 80 hours and 100 hours posts, but my suspicion is that mindfulness is exceptionally useful against the phone, but that it’s been wrapped up in so much fluff as a term that people understandably recoil from it.
It’s not just a branding problem, For me, it’s wrongly described as a trait one can decide to have, rather than a skill to train in. And also I think the way it’s taught needs a bit of a refresh - the phone is such a massive change to our mental life, and nearly all of the writing about this predates it.
And thank you! It’s a tough crowd out there, but the spacesuit is warmer each day :-)
It’s funny that I found when I was pregnant that it acted as a bit of a conversation starter on the train when I used to commute to Leeds. I had some really fun train journeys chatting with (mostly) women of all ages about having children.
Ha, that’s lovely!
I remember when I used to have young kids in tow I’d get the same. Then when they grew up a bit nothing.
Then a brief window again when our dog was tiny, now closed sadly.
I’m fascinated by these incidental interactions. Trying to write about it as we speak.
Ah yeah young kids are the best ice breaker, any outing with them is guaranteed to lead some sort of chat. Will be interesting to hear what you’ve found!