09/10/2024
Harnessing the Power of Silence, Quietness, and Boredom for Critical and Innovative Thinking
2024 Latest reports show that Instagram has 2 billion monthly active users, Facebook active user is over 3 billion, similarly You Tube is at ~2.5 billion and WhatsApp is at 2 billion and TikTok is at just over 1.5 billon
Research highlights: On average, people spend about 143 minutes (that's 2 hours and 23 minutes) on social media every day. That's almost 2.5 hours per day spent scrolling through different platforms. Teenagers are the biggest users, especially teenage girls, who spend nearly 3 hours a day on social media.
The digital age has ushered in an era of constant stimulation, perpetual connectivity, and a never-ending stream of information. Social media are designed to seek your attention for longer period. This means that, the abundance of readily accessible information can paradoxically lead to a cognitive overload, In this way, digital technologies continue to shape our cognitive processes, it is crucial to understand the nuanced impact they have on our ability to think deeply and creatively. It does hinder our capacity for deep contemplation and innovation. (Kozyreva et al., 2022).
On the other hand, As Charles Moran and Richard Lanham have observed, the "digital underlife" – the productive dimensions of digital activity that may initially appear to be distractions – can be harnessed to enhance curricula that combine digital writing and rhetorical education (Mueller, 2009). By embracing the potential of digital underlife, we can cultivate an environment that fosters critical and innovative thinking, rather than treating it as a mere barrier to learning.
Furthermore, now artificial intelligence and generative AI is around the block to reshape our cognitive functions. Not only it will seek for attention, but it will go step further to seek your emotions and become more intimate than ever.
In a world where our attention and intimacy is constantly sought and exploited, the ability to choose what to ignore and where to invest our limited cognitive resources is a crucial competence for digital citizens. By striking a balance between the benefits of digital technology and the restorative power of silence, quietness, and boredom, we can unlock the full potential of our cognitive faculties, ultimately enhancing our capacity for critical, innovative thinking that is essential for navigating the complexities of our rapidly evolving digital landscape.
In the relentless pursuit of progress and productivity, we have overlooked the immense value of silence, quietness, and boredom. These seemingly passive states of being, when embraced, can serve as catalysts for calmness and tranquility of the mind. Quite mind is pre-requisite for relax mind, calmness and peaceful. This state is utmost necessary to start critical and innovative thinking. One cannot expect stressful and agitated mind can be conducive for thinking. Amidst the cacophony of digital distractions, silence, quietness, and boredom offer respite, allowing our minds to focus, make unexpected connections, and engage in the kind of reflective thinking that is essential for problem-solving and the generation of novel ideas. The ability to strategically utilize silence, quietness, and boredom becomes very important.
For progress and productivity, it is almost not possible to have complete digital detox. however, few conscious activities can be performed to protect cognitive overload. One activity is obvious that every individual should be extremely cautious about what content (very selective) and how much time should be engage in technology. Digital literacy must involve the competence of "critical ignoring," which involves selectively directing our attention to the most meaningful and valuable information, rather than succumbing to the cognitive allure of low-quality or misleading content. These steps enable us to resist the temptation of cognitive shortcuts, delve deeper into complex problems, and unlock the creative potential that often lies dormant in the face of constant stimulation. However even after such caution, the digital technologies allure are so strong that it is difficult to keep ourselves protected.
Another option is, at least twice or thrice in year, enroll oneself in silent retreat like Vipassana 10-day course. To remain quite by physically, verbally, and mentally as well. Here students remain without mobile, other devices, novels, books, or anything that needs reading. one must follow complete silence, no talking, no reading, no gestures signs, no white screens, so on. One remains completely away from daily hustle of life. It provides temporary break and relief from strong temptation of digital technologies. it gives us very good opportunity and platform to work on destressing and relaxing ourselves. Complete environment is such that the distractions and temptations is taking back seat for few days every year. Gradually silence and focus attention both will also help of calmness and tranquility of mind, this state of serene and peaceful mind becomes an platform or base for critical and innovative thinking.
Ancient Pali literature, have insight that can be learned even today, Is it worth? to go such silence retreat centers, leaving the comfort of home and family. Center environment offers platform where it is easy to be disconnect, follow basics ethics, keep us away from different vastitudes of life. Hence it is easy to listen and be receptive towards one’s mind. Now if there is an distraction and disturbance in mind then it will take time to settle within one self.
tuṇhī bhavati - is silent, not speaking.
multiple occasion, these words are uttered in Pali literature by enlightened one, where Buddha with advising the young novice to be remain in silence. One occasion Buddha asked group of young novice along with their instructor to leave the center, only because they were chatty/talking.
nindanti ~iṃ āsīnaṃ nindanti bahubhāṇinam(it is faulty to seat together and be talkative)
Silence was cherished that we see multiple occasion, where many monks are sitting in place but it was complete silence. Now lot has been said of not talking then is it we are trying to say that talking should be avoided? what kind of talking and speaking is encouraged?
1. Musāvādaṁ pahāya musāvādā paṭivirato hoti saccavādī saccasandho theto paccayiko avisaṁvādako lokassa.( They give up lying. They speak the truth and stick to the truth. They’re honest and dependable, and don’t trick the world with their words.)
2. Pisuṇaṁ vācaṁ pahāya pisuṇāya vācāya paṭivirato hoti; ito sutvā na amutra akkhātā imesaṁ bhedāya; amutra vā sutvā na imesaṁ akkhātā, amūsaṁ bhedāya. Iti bhinnānaṁ vā sandhātā, sahitānaṁ vā anuppadātā, samaggārāmo samaggarato samagganandī samaggakaraṇiṁ vācaṁ bhāsitā hoti.( They give up divisive speech. They don’t repeat in one place what they heard in another so as to divide people against each other. Instead, they reconcile those who are divided, supporting unity, delighting in harmony, loving harmony, speaking words that promote harmony.)
3. Pharusaṁ vācaṁ pahāya pharusāya vācāya paṭivirato hoti; yā sā vācā nelā kaṇṇasukhā pemanīyā hadayaṅgamā porī bahujanakantā bahujanamanāpā tathārūpiṁ vācaṁ bhāsitā hoti. (They give up harsh speech. They speak in a way that’s mellow, pleasing to the ear, lovely, going to the heart, polite, likable, and agreeable to the people.)
4. Samphappalāpaṁ pahāya samphappalāpā paṭivirato hoti kālavādī bhūtavādī atthavādī dhammavādī vinayavādī, nidhānavatiṁ vācaṁ bhāsitā hoti kālena sāpadesaṁ pariyantavatiṁ atthasaṁhitaṁ. (They give up talking nonsense. Their words are timely, true, and meaningful, in line with the teaching and training. They say things at the right time which are valuable, reasonable, succinct, and beneficial.)
To summarize the above four points, we must talk/speak truthful, with honesty, supporting unity, loving, harmonious, mellow, pleasing, polite, likable, agreeable, timely, meaningful, valuable, reasonable, concise, and beneficial.
Ethics and focus concentration will relax mind, it will become calmer and more tranquil. Mind has now become open to suggestions and recommendations, open up on multiple parallel activities, ability to investigation, ability of problem solving, and it is base for thinking clearly, critically.
Conclusion is in today’s digital age, attention and intimacy is constantly sought and exploited. Silent retreat like Vipassana 10-day course offers refreshing break from stressful and distraction of information. Such retreat provides the opportunity to observe, contemplate on the deep level questions or issues. And it allows to develop more insights about us than becoming the shallow thinker by distraction and cognitive overload.
