#193: Mutually Assured Distraction, Killing Imagination & the Focusing Illusion
3 Ideas in 2 Minutes on Being Distracted
I. Mutually Assured Distraction
Mutually Assured Distraction is a social trap coined by writer Gurwinder Bhogal. Here he applies it to captivating yet pointless battles on social media:
On X, meanwhile, there is a self-propagating system known as “the culture war”. This game consists of trying to score points (likes and retweets) by attacking the enemy political tribe. Unlike in a regular war, the combatants can’t kill each other, only make each other angrier, so little is ever achieved, except that all players become stressed by constant bickering. And yet they persist in bickering, if only because their opponents do, in an endless state of mutually assured distraction.
—Gurwinder Bhogal, Why Everything is Becoming a Game
II. Killing Imagination
In his horror-satire novel Lullaby, American novelist Chuck Palahniuk also portrayed distraction as the enemy. Here’s his take on Big Brother, the symbolic figurehead of the oppressive regime that rules the dystopian society in George Orwell’s 1984:
Old George Orwell got it backward.
Big Brother isn’t watching. He’s singing and dancing. He’s pulling rabbits out of a hat. Big Brother’s busy holding your attention every moment you’re awake. He’s making sure you’re always distracted. He’s making sure you’re fully absorbed.
He’s making sure your imagination withers. Until it’s as useful as your appendix. He’s making sure your attention is always filled.
And this being fed, it’s worse than being watched. With the world always filling you, no one has to worry about what’s in your mind. With everyone’s imagination atrophied, no one will ever be a threat to the world.
—Chuck Palahniuk, Lullaby
III. Focusing Illusion
The Focusing Illusion is like having a magnifying glass that only zooms in on one part of your life, making that part seem way more important than it actually is. In reality, nothing in your life is ever as significant as it seems. Even though you may think about it all the time.
Imagine looking forward to your next vacation to Surfers Paradise on Australia’s Gold Coast. The beach, the sun, the surfing, the sharks! Once you’ve left your rainy hometown behind and jumped into the waves, everything will be just fine forever. Unfortunately, once you’re there, you realise the hot sandy truth. Australia’s Gold Coast may be amazing. But not the solution for all your life’s problems.
When we focus too much on one thing, we tend to exaggerate its impact on our overall happiness. The good news is that this cognitive bias also applies to our suffering, which is often more present in our minds than in reality. 🐘
Have a great week,
Chris
themindcollection.com