Stolen Focus Summary

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Stolen Focus written by Johann Hari and Finding Focus and Hidden Brain interview with psychologist Gloria Mark both uncover causes and solutions plaguing our society’s attention. This is becoming a serious problem as more people are finding themselves unable to remain focused on tasks for more than a few minutes at a time, causing stress and subpar work. While both authors address the world’s constant downhill battle with stolen focus, Hari focuses more on societal factors, while Mark seems more concerned with the inappropriate use of technology that is leading to attention loss. While Hari and Mark agree that lost focus is a worldwide problem, they diverge on the main causes and solutions of attention loss. In both readings, there is a tipping …show more content…
Mark also believes in the concept of a big mind and a little mind. Her big mind is used for work and deep thought, while her little mind takes control for a short time, allowing her big mind to relax and return to a more efficient state of thought. There is a fine line between using games as a reward and using games to distract you from your actual work. Mark also believes that when we are more in control of our actions, it becomes harder to get distracted. Setting goals can help create distraction-free paths to solutions. Hari and Mark have very different levels of knowledge when talking about this subject. Hari has spent years talking with hundreds of scientists all over the world, while Mark has conducted her own research. Mark believes that attention loss can be cured with small, attainable steps and only a few, small sacrifices. Hari, on the other hand, believes that three big goals must be used to reclaim our attention. Three goals that only apply to a small percentage of the population. Hari’s first step is to ban surveillance capitalism. His second step is a four-day work week. And his final step is to rebuild his