The Human Balance

I can't concentrate. Can you?: "What ever happened to being able to chew on a problem, anyway? You know, concentrate, think, wonder, and sketch a bit...

As much of the internet feeds our need for quick and concise information and interactions, human nature seems to desire some kind of balance. Oddly enough many people feel they have to get away from the internet to achieve this balance. But do they get away from internet to get away from the computer? (This isn't necessarily a bad thing.) Maybe there aren't many slower and verbose diversions on the web. Slower and verbose isn't the exact opposite of quick and concise information. It just seems that finding the balance is hard to do.

I know that I can kill a lot of time on the internet while concentrating and chewing on some new ideas for learning. What makes the difference than a quick Google search to find the answer to an Oracle problem or scanning the library industry blogs for trends? I have to focus and ignore the distractions. Don't look at the things outside of my browser window and ignore links to other enticing sites and ads.

Those things are easier said than done on the internet, while reading a book in a quiet place doesn't give much choice. I think this is why flickr can be relaxing for me--find a tag search or artist that interests me at the moment and then sit back and watch the slide show. This interface really lets my brain shift gears. If I wouldn't multi-task during a podcast they seem to have the same passive flavor. Long link-free and formatting free text gives me the same feeling. I may be actively reading, but the path is layed out before me.

So the human balance may be between active internet scanning and a more passive experience of letting the world come to you. Life itself seems to have opportunity for active and passive experiences. Does the web offer a balance? Maybe it needs more things are more passive experiences.