Comments on: Theme Parks and External and Internal Input

By: Jackson

Jackson — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:56:09 +0000

I had a comment to leave, but then got distracted by my Twitter feed.

By: Kristi

Kristi — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:50:25 +0000

I find that I have an “taking in” mode and an output mode. I think of it like leaving my house to go shopping or to gather things. When I’m in taking in mode, I keep gathering and bringing things back to my mental house. I read, research, meet friends to hang out, or watch movies.

At some point, it’s time for me to rearrange all the mental furniture that I’ve gathered and generate some output. I have to curate what I’ve gathered. Otherwise I just keep piling it up compulsively at my doorstep.

Sometimes I get really sucked into the taking-in process. I want to keep clicking on links, checking my email, and otherwise avoiding the creation process. I think the external stimuli can be a big draw because I get the stimulus without the effort of generating it myself. But I think it may be the opposite for some people.

By: Dan

Dan — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:10:40 +0000

I cannot begin to describe how true this is in my own life: “the need to disconnect from whatever media is taking you away from the moment you’re in — Twitter, Facebook, email, IM — and to focus on the moment you’re in. This ability to be in the moment is as critical to writing as other time-worn advice, such as reading or reflecting.”
Social media can be as useful as it is utterly distracting. If I spend too much time browsing through blogs, tweets, or Facebook, my mind starts to blank out. I grow tired. The muse seems ever-distant. Not cool.
Obviously, self-control is needed when using the Web, but it’s so easy to get sucked into the void of distraction.
I’m putting together a tech writer blog, and I am seriously considering writing my posts (and other writings) away from the computer. I’m too easily tempted to click the Twitter link on my bookmarks toolbar.
Sounds silly, I know, but that’s where I’m at right now.

Just my two cents, for what it’s worth, etc.
-Dan

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:18:40 +0000

Thanks Dad. I hadn’t thought of the two main messages that external stimuli can be divided into, but yeah, I can see that pattern emerge.

This discussion is interesting — I get the feeling that we’re only scratching the surface here. I was trying to articulate something I was sensing inside, maybe one of those thoughts that are “much more complex and humbling” — but I couldn’t quite grasp it. You are definitely enriching the thought with your comments.

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:13:32 +0000

Margaret, thanks so much for adding your insight to my post. What you say makes perfect sense. I hadn’t even thought about the subconscious processing that goes on, and how external stimuli can decrease that internal processing, but you’re totally right. Again, thanks for adding insight to the internal/external thought I was trying to formulate.

By: Margaret

Margaret — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:59:24 +0000

Tom:

I find that when I’m working on a project or problem and not making any progress, after I’ve looked at all the information I could find, and consciously tried to figure oot a structure that makes sense, when I quit looking at it, and work on something else, my unconcious mind is still playing with the pieces, trying to make them fit, and trying to figure out what is missing. If I’m constantly bambarded with external sensory input (tv, music, other people talking around me), I can’t even think about the problem I’ve been trying to resolve.

It’s only when I am somewhere quiet, and am not actively, consciously thinking about anything else (such as just before sleep at night), that the results of my subconscious work on the problem (your “internal input”) can rise into my conscious mind where I can integrate it with the problem information already available to my conscious mind, which results in the moment of insight that allows me to see the way to a solution.

By: Dave Johnson

Dave Johnson — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:33:33 +0000

The external input is more limited than it seems at first blush. Two messages stand out for me: “Surprise! Surprise!” and “Ain’t it awful!.” On my own, my thoughts are much more complex and humbling, so i turn to outside input for simplification.