+.+.+ where is your attention?

"all of humanity's problems stem from man's
inability to sit quietly in a room alone"
wrote the French philosopher 
Blaise Pascal
waaaay back in the 1600's
before smartphones and internet
and all those distracting things

screens we look at when we wake
manipulated algorithms
memes
edited social online lives

technology is an easy scapegoat
we can kid ourselves
whatever it is or isn't
have we been manipulated?
we have been robbed of our attention

I heard an interesting interview with 
Max Cooper
an electronic artist and biological scientist
mixing science with music 
he went completely offline and into isolation
for a month to record his latest album
freeing himself from interruptions

it's good to have times of disconnection
self imposed restrictions
reconnecting with the things
we enjoyed before
the dopamine surge addiction
when your phone 'pings'

regain control of your attention