This post was originally published in July of 2016 on another platform:
I picked up a book from the give-away shelves on the fourth floor of NPR. It's called Mindful Tech by David Levy. The gist of the book is about making the best use of new communications technologies without having them come to rule our lives. The first chapter reminds the reader of the funny video that came out a few years ago when a women was walking in the mall and typing on a cell phone at the same time. Failing to notice the fountain in front of her she fell in. The whole thing was captured on mall security cameras and went viral on the Internet. Levy makes the argument that by doing both things at the same time (multi-tasking) she really did neither of them well.
The author goes on to make an argument for developing a craft for tech use. Something like the idea of creating an object of art. He argues that we should put more effort into how we use our tech and what we say with tech. He then highlights what he calls "dimensions of craftwork." The following four items are quoted from the book:
Intention
When we craft something, we set out purposefully to make or do something. We have a direction and perhaps even an outcome in mind – to construct a bookcase, to play a certain piece of music or a game of tennis. When it comes to tech, all too often do we click around aimlessly online. By clarifying our intention, and by reminding ourselves of it (or consciously changing it, when appropriate) we increase our chances of arriving successfully at our destination.
Care
When we craft something, we also care about what we are creating or performing. Care, of course, goes hand in hand with intention. We care enough to clarify our intention, and then to make sure that we are realizing it to the best of our ability.
Skill
While having a caring attitude and the best of intentions is necessary, it isn't sufficient. We also need the appropriate skills to realize our intention, including the ability to maintain and use our tools well, and to bring the best of our mind and body to the task at hand. If we pay attention to our online craft, we will be able to notice when we are proceeding skillfully, and when we're not.
Learning
Finally, if we care enough for the quality of our outcome to bring our best skills to bear, then we will want to improve those skills. This requires a commitment of time and attention to engage in an ongoing process of learning.
After giving an example or two of how this has worked for others Levy notes that we shouldn't be craft-obsessed over everything all the time. He notes that by improving our use of the four dimensions of craft "we can avoid a certain amount of mindless and stressful behavior that is now so common in our online lives."
As an example that we don't have to be intentional about everything all the time, Levy refers to a promoter of the "lean, grain-and-local-vegetable-based" diet. After noticing how people took to the diet too strictly, the diet promoter began to tell people, "Sometimes you just have to eat a Snickers bar." When it comes to our interactions with tech, Levy notes, "The challenge and the opportunity is to decide for ourselves when to engage intention and care, and when to eat the Snickers bar (and when, sometimes, to eat the Snickers bar with intention and care). And when we decide to act intentionally and carefully, we ought to feel confident that our craft skills are up to the task."
Seems like some good nuggets here we can all gain from to improve our own craft.
I picked up a book from the give-away shelves on the fourth floor of NPR. It's called Mindful Tech by David Levy. The gist of the book is about making the best use of new communications technologies without having them come to rule our lives. The first chapter reminds the reader of the funny video that came out a few years ago when a women was walking in the mall and typing on a cell phone at the same time. Failing to notice the fountain in front of her she fell in. The whole thing was captured on mall security cameras and went viral on the Internet. Levy makes the argument that by doing both things at the same time (multi-tasking) she really did neither of them well.
The author goes on to make an argument for developing a craft for tech use. Something like the idea of creating an object of art. He argues that we should put more effort into how we use our tech and what we say with tech. He then highlights what he calls "dimensions of craftwork." The following four items are quoted from the book:
Intention
When we craft something, we set out purposefully to make or do something. We have a direction and perhaps even an outcome in mind – to construct a bookcase, to play a certain piece of music or a game of tennis. When it comes to tech, all too often do we click around aimlessly online. By clarifying our intention, and by reminding ourselves of it (or consciously changing it, when appropriate) we increase our chances of arriving successfully at our destination.
Care
When we craft something, we also care about what we are creating or performing. Care, of course, goes hand in hand with intention. We care enough to clarify our intention, and then to make sure that we are realizing it to the best of our ability.
Skill
While having a caring attitude and the best of intentions is necessary, it isn't sufficient. We also need the appropriate skills to realize our intention, including the ability to maintain and use our tools well, and to bring the best of our mind and body to the task at hand. If we pay attention to our online craft, we will be able to notice when we are proceeding skillfully, and when we're not.
Learning
Finally, if we care enough for the quality of our outcome to bring our best skills to bear, then we will want to improve those skills. This requires a commitment of time and attention to engage in an ongoing process of learning.
After giving an example or two of how this has worked for others Levy notes that we shouldn't be craft-obsessed over everything all the time. He notes that by improving our use of the four dimensions of craft "we can avoid a certain amount of mindless and stressful behavior that is now so common in our online lives."
As an example that we don't have to be intentional about everything all the time, Levy refers to a promoter of the "lean, grain-and-local-vegetable-based" diet. After noticing how people took to the diet too strictly, the diet promoter began to tell people, "Sometimes you just have to eat a Snickers bar." When it comes to our interactions with tech, Levy notes, "The challenge and the opportunity is to decide for ourselves when to engage intention and care, and when to eat the Snickers bar (and when, sometimes, to eat the Snickers bar with intention and care). And when we decide to act intentionally and carefully, we ought to feel confident that our craft skills are up to the task."
Seems like some good nuggets here we can all gain from to improve our own craft.
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