--- In [email protected], Angela Mailander
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> "There are no statistics" is not a statement a careful student or
observer would make. He or she would say instead, "I am aware of no
statistics."
Consider me not careful when responding to your post. Good point.
As it happens, there are numerous studies on attention span,
including cross cultural studies.
>
> To judge my statement on attention span a prejudice is itself
prejudicial. "Prejudice" means "pre-judgment." You cannot know if I
am making a pre-judgment until you ask what my judgment is based on.
Is it based on merely informal observation? Hearsay? Ethnographic
studies?
Excellent questions all. So do they have answers or was this a
sophist trick to cover your tracks?
>
> Whether a short attention span is a good thing or a bad thing
depends on a number of different variables. As I have already
indicated, it can be a very good thing. Letting go of the past is a
necessary component in any kind of creativity. And, presumably, we
wouldn't want the whole planet populated by a bunch of stodgy
nineteenth century German scholars. I'm not qualified to judge if
there is (or is not) a genetic component predating the present age
that would make for a relatively shorter attention span among
Americans. That consistent behavior over a large enough population
will create a genetic predisposition, however, seems a solid enough
hypothesis. TV certainly doesn't foster a long attention span, and
neither does an educational system that is largely based on objective
tests.
The statement about attention span was a general statement
> based on
> > > stats. Statistics predict tendencies in systems---never
> individuals.
> > > That Americans have a short attention span is something the rest
> of
> > > the world kind of knows about us-
Did the rest of the world come to their conclusions through their
careful review of studies too?
When you make blanket statements about how Americans are "fill in the
blank" compared to the rest of the world, I think you are buying into
America bashing. But hey I could be wrong, I'll be fascinated to
hear about all the cross cultural studies that you alluded to that
formed the basis of your opinion rather than just the prejudicial
"winging it" that forms the basis of what the rest of "the world kind
of knows about us".
Good distinctions Angela. I look forward to being proven wrong if I
am. I could be misreading your claim of studies as a baseless bluff
when being called on a personal prejudice. Let's see.
>
> nablusoss1008 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
--- In [email protected], Vaj <vajranatha@> wrote:
> >
> >
> > On Oct 31, 2007, at 10:49 AM, curtisdeltablues wrote:
> >
> > > --- In [email protected], Angela Mailander
> > > <mailander111@> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > The statement about attention span was a general statement
> based on
> > > stats. Statistics predict tendencies in systems---never
> individuals.
> > > That Americans have a short attention span is something the rest
> of
> > > the world kind of knows about us---my guess is that this has
> something
> > > to do with the fact that we watch more TV than anyone else. Kids
> in
> > > other countries tend not to have attention deficit disorder to
> the
> > > extent our do. But that can't be the only reason.>
> > >
> > > There are no such statistics, this is just prejudice and ethno-
> centric
> > > snobbery. I have lived in other countries and people's attention
> > > spans cannot be summed up by country. With your deep knowledge of
> > > where this leads I am surprised that you would embrace a negative
> > > stereotype about a certain culture's cognitive abilities. You are
> > > buying into a perspective that other countries use to take shots
> at
> > > the US. "Well they may be the richest country in the world but
> they
> > > have short attention spans."
> >
> >
> > I actually had heard this, it was about 10-15 years ago from
> > professionals in that field. In fact, one of the theories as to
> why
> > they were so high in America was partially genetic, as the
> tendency
> > to want to leave another country (i.e. Europe) to go to another
> > country may stem from ADHD -- so that people who settled here have
> a
> > higher percentage of attention deficit via the type of people who
> > tend to want to move to a young, wild country. In any event, that
> > what was being bandied about back then. So basically the early
> > settlers here included a high percentage of ADHD people and we
> now
> > pay the genetic price for that today.
> >
> > But it was just a theory.
>
> Benjamin Creme mentions something like that in describing the Rays
> of the USA. But for him it is a posivtive tendency of exploration
> now being materialized in the american dream of exploring more and
> more of the universe finding new "frontiers".
> http://www.shareintl.org
>
>
>
>
>
> Send instant messages to your online friends
http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com
>
