Attention: A Personal History of Finding Focus (or Trying To)

Attention: A Personal History of Finding Focus (or Trying To)

Author: Casey Schwartz

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 2021-09-07

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 0525435980

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“[A] memoir-cum-meditation on the idea of attention. . . . Schwartz is brilliant, funny and clear.” —NPR As technology embeds itself ever more deeply into our lives and distraction takes hold as our universal affliction, Casey Schwartz grapples with the essential questions of attention: what is it? How can we conserve it? And what else is lost when we give it away? With humor, candor, and captivating stories, Schwartz reflects on the decade she spent taking Adderall to help her focus (or so she thought) and embarks on a quest to pin down the precious and elusive resource of attention. This investigation takes us on an eye-opening journey through the work of thinkers such as Williams James, David Foster Wallace, Aldous Huxley, Simone Weil, and out into the world beyond. From our craving for diversions to our craving for a cure, from Silicon Valley consultants and psychedelic researchers to trauma expert Dr. Gabor Maté, Attention explores the modern landscape of distraction and the possibility of finding focus despite it. Brilliantly combining memoir, biography, and original reporting, Schwartz documents the abundant demands on our attention with piercing insight and illuminates the path to reclaiming authentic life.


Book Synopsis Attention: A Personal History of Finding Focus (or Trying To) by : Casey Schwartz

Download or read book Attention: A Personal History of Finding Focus (or Trying To) written by Casey Schwartz and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2021-09-07 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “[A] memoir-cum-meditation on the idea of attention. . . . Schwartz is brilliant, funny and clear.” —NPR As technology embeds itself ever more deeply into our lives and distraction takes hold as our universal affliction, Casey Schwartz grapples with the essential questions of attention: what is it? How can we conserve it? And what else is lost when we give it away? With humor, candor, and captivating stories, Schwartz reflects on the decade she spent taking Adderall to help her focus (or so she thought) and embarks on a quest to pin down the precious and elusive resource of attention. This investigation takes us on an eye-opening journey through the work of thinkers such as Williams James, David Foster Wallace, Aldous Huxley, Simone Weil, and out into the world beyond. From our craving for diversions to our craving for a cure, from Silicon Valley consultants and psychedelic researchers to trauma expert Dr. Gabor Maté, Attention explores the modern landscape of distraction and the possibility of finding focus despite it. Brilliantly combining memoir, biography, and original reporting, Schwartz documents the abundant demands on our attention with piercing insight and illuminates the path to reclaiming authentic life.


Attention: A Personal History of Finding Focus (or Trying To)

Attention: A Personal History of Finding Focus (or Trying To)

Author: Casey Schwartz

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 2020-04-07

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 1524747114

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"A rich inquiry into what it means to pay (and maintain) attention in a world increasingly permeated with distraction and interference.” —Publisher’s Weekly Combining expert storytelling with genuine self-scrutiny, Casey Schwartz details the decade she spend taking Adderall to help her pay attention (or so she thought) and then considers the role of attention in defining our lives as it has been understood by thinkers such as William James, David Foster Wallace, and Simone Weil. From our craving for distraction to our craving for a cure, from Silicon Valley consultants and psychedelic researchers to the findings of trauma expert Dr. Gabor Maté, Schwartz takes us on an eye-opening tour of the modern landscape of attention. Blending memoir, biography, and original reporting, Schwarz examines her attempts to preserve her authentic life and decide what is most important in it. Attention: A Love Story will resonate with readers who want to determine their own minds, away from the siren call of their screens.


Book Synopsis Attention: A Personal History of Finding Focus (or Trying To) by : Casey Schwartz

Download or read book Attention: A Personal History of Finding Focus (or Trying To) written by Casey Schwartz and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2020-04-07 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A rich inquiry into what it means to pay (and maintain) attention in a world increasingly permeated with distraction and interference.” —Publisher’s Weekly Combining expert storytelling with genuine self-scrutiny, Casey Schwartz details the decade she spend taking Adderall to help her pay attention (or so she thought) and then considers the role of attention in defining our lives as it has been understood by thinkers such as William James, David Foster Wallace, and Simone Weil. From our craving for distraction to our craving for a cure, from Silicon Valley consultants and psychedelic researchers to the findings of trauma expert Dr. Gabor Maté, Schwartz takes us on an eye-opening tour of the modern landscape of attention. Blending memoir, biography, and original reporting, Schwarz examines her attempts to preserve her authentic life and decide what is most important in it. Attention: A Love Story will resonate with readers who want to determine their own minds, away from the siren call of their screens.


Can I Have Your Attention?

Can I Have Your Attention?

Author: Joseph Cardillo

Publisher: Red Wheel/Weiser

Published: 2009-08-01

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 1601638914

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Can I Have Your Attention? is not your traditional self-help book that offers 12 simple steps to enhance brainpower. Nor is it a book on Eastern Wisdom, spirituality, or conventional meditation. It is an eye-popping adventure that combines ancient, high-speed attention-building processes with cutting-edge attention research in psychology, neurology, and biology. Through Joseph Cardillo’s engaging personal account of the world of human attention—which synthesizes the stories of more than two dozen experts—you will uncover surprising secrets about the workings of your own mind. Did you know that: — You can use your attention to perfect any daily activity—from piano playing to work- related activities to perfecting your golf swing? — In just one-six-hundredth of a second, a random detail you glimpse in the corner of your eye can determine whether you like someone you just met, cause or avoid an accident, make you feel happy or depressed all day, and lead you to succeed or fail at anything you try? — Specifically designed meditation techniques can be used to scan and shift brain waves, altering one’s attention as effectively as electrode-packed biofeedback instruments? — Most importantly, you can train your attention to turn such processes on or off on command? This fresh look at ancient attention skills and new science will transform your thinking about what human attention is as well as offer a guide to incorporating its insights into your daily life. Can I Have Your Attention? even presents a redefinition of attention deficit and reveals a variety of natural, non-medical tools that can significantly amp up anyone’s attention!


Book Synopsis Can I Have Your Attention? by : Joseph Cardillo

Download or read book Can I Have Your Attention? written by Joseph Cardillo and published by Red Wheel/Weiser. This book was released on 2009-08-01 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Can I Have Your Attention? is not your traditional self-help book that offers 12 simple steps to enhance brainpower. Nor is it a book on Eastern Wisdom, spirituality, or conventional meditation. It is an eye-popping adventure that combines ancient, high-speed attention-building processes with cutting-edge attention research in psychology, neurology, and biology. Through Joseph Cardillo’s engaging personal account of the world of human attention—which synthesizes the stories of more than two dozen experts—you will uncover surprising secrets about the workings of your own mind. Did you know that: — You can use your attention to perfect any daily activity—from piano playing to work- related activities to perfecting your golf swing? — In just one-six-hundredth of a second, a random detail you glimpse in the corner of your eye can determine whether you like someone you just met, cause or avoid an accident, make you feel happy or depressed all day, and lead you to succeed or fail at anything you try? — Specifically designed meditation techniques can be used to scan and shift brain waves, altering one’s attention as effectively as electrode-packed biofeedback instruments? — Most importantly, you can train your attention to turn such processes on or off on command? This fresh look at ancient attention skills and new science will transform your thinking about what human attention is as well as offer a guide to incorporating its insights into your daily life. Can I Have Your Attention? even presents a redefinition of attention deficit and reveals a variety of natural, non-medical tools that can significantly amp up anyone’s attention!


In the Mind Fields

In the Mind Fields

Author: Casey Schwartz

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 2016-07-26

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 0804169942

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Neuroscience and psychoanalysis are historically opposed responses to the age-old quest to understand ourselves—one focused on the brain and the other on the mind. As part of a pioneering program to look for common ground between the two warring disciplines, Casey Schwartz spent one year immersed in psychoanalytic theory at the Anna Freud Centre, and the next year studying the brain among Yale’s cutting-edge neuroscientists. She came away with a clear picture of the distance between the two fields: while neuroscience is lacking in attention to lived experience, psychoanalysis is often too ephemeral and subjective. Armed with this awareness, Schwartz set out to study the main pioneers in the emerging and controversial field of neuropsychoanalysis. With passion and humor, she makes a trenchant argument for a hybrid scientific culture that will allow the two approaches to thrive together.


Book Synopsis In the Mind Fields by : Casey Schwartz

Download or read book In the Mind Fields written by Casey Schwartz and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2016-07-26 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Neuroscience and psychoanalysis are historically opposed responses to the age-old quest to understand ourselves—one focused on the brain and the other on the mind. As part of a pioneering program to look for common ground between the two warring disciplines, Casey Schwartz spent one year immersed in psychoanalytic theory at the Anna Freud Centre, and the next year studying the brain among Yale’s cutting-edge neuroscientists. She came away with a clear picture of the distance between the two fields: while neuroscience is lacking in attention to lived experience, psychoanalysis is often too ephemeral and subjective. Armed with this awareness, Schwartz set out to study the main pioneers in the emerging and controversial field of neuropsychoanalysis. With passion and humor, she makes a trenchant argument for a hybrid scientific culture that will allow the two approaches to thrive together.


You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?!

You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?!

Author: Kate Kelly

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2006-04-25

Total Pages: 500

ISBN-13: 0743288947

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A revised and updated edition of the classic self-help book that has served as a lifeline to the millions of adults who have ADHD! With over a quarter million copies in print, You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?! is one of the bestselling books on attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder ever written. There is a great deal of literature about children with ADHD, but what do you do if you have ADHD and aren't a child anymore? This indispensable reference—the first of its kind written for adults with ADHD by adults with ADHD—focuses on the experiences of adults, offering updated information, practical how-tos, and moral support to help readers deal with ADHD. It also explains the diagnostic process that distinguishes ADHD symptoms from normal lapses in memory, lack of concentration or impulsive behavior, offering guidance on how your reframe our view of ADHD and embrace its benefits. Here's what's new: The new ADHD medications and their effectiveness The effects of ADHD on human sexuality The differences between male and female ADHD—including falling estrogen levels and its impact on cognitive function The power of meditation ADHD coaching tricks and tips And the book still includes the tried-and-true advice about: Achieving balance by analyzing one's strengths and weaknesses Getting along in groups, at work and in intimate and family relationships—including how to decrease discord and chaos Learning the mechanics and methods for getting organized and improving memory Seeking professional help, including therapy and medication


Book Synopsis You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?! by : Kate Kelly

Download or read book You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?! written by Kate Kelly and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2006-04-25 with total page 500 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A revised and updated edition of the classic self-help book that has served as a lifeline to the millions of adults who have ADHD! With over a quarter million copies in print, You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?! is one of the bestselling books on attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder ever written. There is a great deal of literature about children with ADHD, but what do you do if you have ADHD and aren't a child anymore? This indispensable reference—the first of its kind written for adults with ADHD by adults with ADHD—focuses on the experiences of adults, offering updated information, practical how-tos, and moral support to help readers deal with ADHD. It also explains the diagnostic process that distinguishes ADHD symptoms from normal lapses in memory, lack of concentration or impulsive behavior, offering guidance on how your reframe our view of ADHD and embrace its benefits. Here's what's new: The new ADHD medications and their effectiveness The effects of ADHD on human sexuality The differences between male and female ADHD—including falling estrogen levels and its impact on cognitive function The power of meditation ADHD coaching tricks and tips And the book still includes the tried-and-true advice about: Achieving balance by analyzing one's strengths and weaknesses Getting along in groups, at work and in intimate and family relationships—including how to decrease discord and chaos Learning the mechanics and methods for getting organized and improving memory Seeking professional help, including therapy and medication


The Attention Merchants

The Attention Merchants

Author: Tim Wu

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 2017-09-19

Total Pages: 434

ISBN-13: 0804170045

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From the author of the award-winning The Master Switch, who coined the term "net neutrality”—a revelatory, ambitious and urgent account of how the capture and re-sale of human attention became the defining industry of our time. "Dazzling." —Financial Times Ours is often called an information economy, but at a moment when access to information is virtually unlimited, our attention has become the ultimate commodity. In nearly every moment of our waking lives, we face a barrage of efforts to harvest our attention. This condition is not simply the byproduct of recent technological innovations but the result of more than a century's growth and expansion in the industries that feed on human attention. Wu’s narrative begins in the nineteenth century, when Benjamin Day discovered he could get rich selling newspapers for a penny. Since then, every new medium—from radio to television to Internet companies such as Google and Facebook—has attained commercial viability and immense riches by turning itself into an advertising platform. Since the early days, the basic business model of “attention merchants” has never changed: free diversion in exchange for a moment of your time, sold in turn to the highest-bidding advertiser. Full of lively, unexpected storytelling and piercing insight, The Attention Merchants lays bare the true nature of a ubiquitous reality we can no longer afford to accept at face value.


Book Synopsis The Attention Merchants by : Tim Wu

Download or read book The Attention Merchants written by Tim Wu and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2017-09-19 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the author of the award-winning The Master Switch, who coined the term "net neutrality”—a revelatory, ambitious and urgent account of how the capture and re-sale of human attention became the defining industry of our time. "Dazzling." —Financial Times Ours is often called an information economy, but at a moment when access to information is virtually unlimited, our attention has become the ultimate commodity. In nearly every moment of our waking lives, we face a barrage of efforts to harvest our attention. This condition is not simply the byproduct of recent technological innovations but the result of more than a century's growth and expansion in the industries that feed on human attention. Wu’s narrative begins in the nineteenth century, when Benjamin Day discovered he could get rich selling newspapers for a penny. Since then, every new medium—from radio to television to Internet companies such as Google and Facebook—has attained commercial viability and immense riches by turning itself into an advertising platform. Since the early days, the basic business model of “attention merchants” has never changed: free diversion in exchange for a moment of your time, sold in turn to the highest-bidding advertiser. Full of lively, unexpected storytelling and piercing insight, The Attention Merchants lays bare the true nature of a ubiquitous reality we can no longer afford to accept at face value.


Stolen Focus

Stolen Focus

Author: Johann Hari

Publisher: Crown

Published: 2022-01-25

Total Pages: 369

ISBN-13: 059313852X

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Our ability to pay attention is collapsing. From the author of Chasing the Scream and Lost Connections comes a groundbreaking examination of why this is happening—and how to get our attention back. “The book the world needs in order to win the war on distraction.”—Adam Grant, author of Think Again “Read this book to save your mind.”—Susan Cain, author of Quiet WINNER OF THE PORCHLIGHT BUSINESS BOOK AWARD • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Post, Mashable, Mindful In the United States, teenagers can focus on one task for only sixty-five seconds at a time, and office workers average only three minutes. Like so many of us, Johann Hari was finding that constantly switching from device to device and tab to tab was a diminishing and depressing way to live. He tried all sorts of self-help solutions—even abandoning his phone for three months—but nothing seemed to work. So Hari went on an epic journey across the world to interview the leading experts on human attention—and he discovered that everything we think we know about this crisis is wrong. We think our inability to focus is a personal failure to exert enough willpower over our devices. The truth is even more disturbing: our focus has been stolen by powerful external forces that have left us uniquely vulnerable to corporations determined to raid our attention for profit. Hari found that there are twelve deep causes of this crisis, from the decline of mind-wandering to rising pollution, all of which have robbed some of our attention. In Stolen Focus, he introduces readers to Silicon Valley dissidents who learned to hack human attention, and veterinarians who diagnose dogs with ADHD. He explores a favela in Rio de Janeiro where everyone lost their attention in a particularly surreal way, and an office in New Zealand that discovered a remarkable technique to restore workers’ productivity. Crucially, Hari learned how we can reclaim our focus—as individuals, and as a society—if we are determined to fight for it. Stolen Focus will transform the debate about attention and finally show us how to get it back.


Book Synopsis Stolen Focus by : Johann Hari

Download or read book Stolen Focus written by Johann Hari and published by Crown. This book was released on 2022-01-25 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Our ability to pay attention is collapsing. From the author of Chasing the Scream and Lost Connections comes a groundbreaking examination of why this is happening—and how to get our attention back. “The book the world needs in order to win the war on distraction.”—Adam Grant, author of Think Again “Read this book to save your mind.”—Susan Cain, author of Quiet WINNER OF THE PORCHLIGHT BUSINESS BOOK AWARD • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, New York Post, Mashable, Mindful In the United States, teenagers can focus on one task for only sixty-five seconds at a time, and office workers average only three minutes. Like so many of us, Johann Hari was finding that constantly switching from device to device and tab to tab was a diminishing and depressing way to live. He tried all sorts of self-help solutions—even abandoning his phone for three months—but nothing seemed to work. So Hari went on an epic journey across the world to interview the leading experts on human attention—and he discovered that everything we think we know about this crisis is wrong. We think our inability to focus is a personal failure to exert enough willpower over our devices. The truth is even more disturbing: our focus has been stolen by powerful external forces that have left us uniquely vulnerable to corporations determined to raid our attention for profit. Hari found that there are twelve deep causes of this crisis, from the decline of mind-wandering to rising pollution, all of which have robbed some of our attention. In Stolen Focus, he introduces readers to Silicon Valley dissidents who learned to hack human attention, and veterinarians who diagnose dogs with ADHD. He explores a favela in Rio de Janeiro where everyone lost their attention in a particularly surreal way, and an office in New Zealand that discovered a remarkable technique to restore workers’ productivity. Crucially, Hari learned how we can reclaim our focus—as individuals, and as a society—if we are determined to fight for it. Stolen Focus will transform the debate about attention and finally show us how to get it back.


How Attention Works

How Attention Works

Author: Stefan Van Der Stigchel

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2019-03-12

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13: 026235098X

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How we filter out what is irrelevant so we can focus on what we need to know. We are surrounded by a world rich with visual information, but we pay attention to very little of it, filtering out what is irrelevant so we can focus on what we think we need to know. Advertisers, web designers, and other “attention architects” try hard to get our attention, promoting products with videos on huge outdoor screens, adding flashing banners to websites, and developing computer programs with blinking icons that tempt us to click. Often they succeed in distracting us from what we are supposed to be doing. In How Attention Works, Stefan Van der Stigchel explains the process of attention and what the implications are for our everyday lives. The visual attention system is efficient, Van der Stigchel writes, because it doesn't waste energy processing every scrap of visual data it receives; it gathers only relevant information. We focus on one snippet of information and assume that everything else is stable and consistent with past experience; that's why most people miss even the most glaring continuity errors in films. If an object doesn't meet our expectations, chances are we won't see it. Van der Stigchel makes his case with examples from real life, explaining, among other things, the limitations of color perception (and why fire trucks shouldn't be red); the importance of location (security guards and radiologists, for example, have to know where to look); the attention-getting properties of faces and spiders; what we can learn from someone else's eye movements; why we see what we expect to see (magicians take advantage of this); and visual neglect and unattended information.


Book Synopsis How Attention Works by : Stefan Van Der Stigchel

Download or read book How Attention Works written by Stefan Van Der Stigchel and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2019-03-12 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How we filter out what is irrelevant so we can focus on what we need to know. We are surrounded by a world rich with visual information, but we pay attention to very little of it, filtering out what is irrelevant so we can focus on what we think we need to know. Advertisers, web designers, and other “attention architects” try hard to get our attention, promoting products with videos on huge outdoor screens, adding flashing banners to websites, and developing computer programs with blinking icons that tempt us to click. Often they succeed in distracting us from what we are supposed to be doing. In How Attention Works, Stefan Van der Stigchel explains the process of attention and what the implications are for our everyday lives. The visual attention system is efficient, Van der Stigchel writes, because it doesn't waste energy processing every scrap of visual data it receives; it gathers only relevant information. We focus on one snippet of information and assume that everything else is stable and consistent with past experience; that's why most people miss even the most glaring continuity errors in films. If an object doesn't meet our expectations, chances are we won't see it. Van der Stigchel makes his case with examples from real life, explaining, among other things, the limitations of color perception (and why fire trucks shouldn't be red); the importance of location (security guards and radiologists, for example, have to know where to look); the attention-getting properties of faces and spiders; what we can learn from someone else's eye movements; why we see what we expect to see (magicians take advantage of this); and visual neglect and unattended information.


Delivered from Distraction

Delivered from Distraction

Author: Edward M. Hallowell, M.D.

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Published: 2005-12-27

Total Pages: 418

ISBN-13: 0345490983

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“If you read only one book about attention deficit disorder, it should be Delivered from Distraction.”—Michael Thompson, Ph.D., New York Times bestselling co-author of Raising Cain In 1994, Driven to Distraction sparked a revolution in our understanding of attention deficit disorder. Widely recognized as the classic in the field, the book has sold more than a million copies. Now a second revolution is under way in the approach to ADD, and the news is great. Drug therapies, our understanding of the role of diet and exercise, even the way we define the disorder–all are changing radically. And doctors are realizing that millions of adults suffer from this condition, though the vast majority of them remain undiagnosed and untreated. In this new book, Drs. Edward M. Hallowell and John J. Ratey build on the breakthroughs of Driven to Distraction to offer a comprehensive and entirely up-to-date guide to living a successful life with ADD. As Hallowell and Ratey point out, “attention deficit disorder” is a highly misleading description of an intriguing kind of mind. Original, charismatic, energetic, often brilliant, people with ADD have extraordinary talents and gifts embedded in their highly charged but easily distracted minds. Tailored expressly to ADD learning styles and attention spans, Delivered from Distraction provides accessible, engaging discussions of every aspect of the condition, from diagnosis to finding the proper treatment regime. Inside you’ll discover • whether ADD runs in families • new diagnostic procedures, tests, and evaluations • the links between ADD and other conditions • how people with ADD can free up their inner talents and strengths • the new drugs and how they work, and why they’re not for everyone • exciting advances in nonpharmaceutical therapies, including changes in diet, exercise, and lifestyle • how to adapt the classic twelve-step program to treat ADD • sexual problems associated with ADD and how to resolve them • strategies for dealing with procrastination, clutter, and chronic forgetfulness ADD is a trait, a way of living in the world. It only becomes a disorder when it impairs your life. Featuring gripping profiles of patients with ADD who have triumphed, Delivered from Distraction is a wise, loving guide to releasing the positive energy that all people with ADD hold inside. If you have ADD or care about someone who does, this is the book you must read. Praise for Delivered from Distraction “The definitive source of information on attention deficit disorder.”—Harold S. Koplewicz, M.D., director, Child Study Center, New York University School of Medicine “A deeply wise and truly helpful book, written with frankness, humor, and tremendous empathy.”—Perri Klass, M.D., co-author of Quirky Kids


Book Synopsis Delivered from Distraction by : Edward M. Hallowell, M.D.

Download or read book Delivered from Distraction written by Edward M. Hallowell, M.D. and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2005-12-27 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “If you read only one book about attention deficit disorder, it should be Delivered from Distraction.”—Michael Thompson, Ph.D., New York Times bestselling co-author of Raising Cain In 1994, Driven to Distraction sparked a revolution in our understanding of attention deficit disorder. Widely recognized as the classic in the field, the book has sold more than a million copies. Now a second revolution is under way in the approach to ADD, and the news is great. Drug therapies, our understanding of the role of diet and exercise, even the way we define the disorder–all are changing radically. And doctors are realizing that millions of adults suffer from this condition, though the vast majority of them remain undiagnosed and untreated. In this new book, Drs. Edward M. Hallowell and John J. Ratey build on the breakthroughs of Driven to Distraction to offer a comprehensive and entirely up-to-date guide to living a successful life with ADD. As Hallowell and Ratey point out, “attention deficit disorder” is a highly misleading description of an intriguing kind of mind. Original, charismatic, energetic, often brilliant, people with ADD have extraordinary talents and gifts embedded in their highly charged but easily distracted minds. Tailored expressly to ADD learning styles and attention spans, Delivered from Distraction provides accessible, engaging discussions of every aspect of the condition, from diagnosis to finding the proper treatment regime. Inside you’ll discover • whether ADD runs in families • new diagnostic procedures, tests, and evaluations • the links between ADD and other conditions • how people with ADD can free up their inner talents and strengths • the new drugs and how they work, and why they’re not for everyone • exciting advances in nonpharmaceutical therapies, including changes in diet, exercise, and lifestyle • how to adapt the classic twelve-step program to treat ADD • sexual problems associated with ADD and how to resolve them • strategies for dealing with procrastination, clutter, and chronic forgetfulness ADD is a trait, a way of living in the world. It only becomes a disorder when it impairs your life. Featuring gripping profiles of patients with ADD who have triumphed, Delivered from Distraction is a wise, loving guide to releasing the positive energy that all people with ADD hold inside. If you have ADD or care about someone who does, this is the book you must read. Praise for Delivered from Distraction “The definitive source of information on attention deficit disorder.”—Harold S. Koplewicz, M.D., director, Child Study Center, New York University School of Medicine “A deeply wise and truly helpful book, written with frankness, humor, and tremendous empathy.”—Perri Klass, M.D., co-author of Quirky Kids


The Psychology of Attention

The Psychology of Attention

Author: Harold Pashler

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 1999-07-26

Total Pages: 516

ISBN-13: 9780262661560

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In the past two decades, attention has been one of the most investigated areas of research in perception and cognition. However, the literature on the field contains a bewildering array of findings, and empirical progress has not been matched by consensus on major theoretical issues. The Psychology of Attention presents a systematic review of the main lines of research on attention; the topics range from perception of threshold stimuli to memory storage and decision making. The book develops empirical generalizations about the major issues and suggests possible underlying theoretical principles. Pashler argues that widely assumed notions of processing resources and automaticity are of limited value in understanding human information processing. He proposes a central bottleneck for decision making and memory retrieval, and describes evidence that distinguishes this limitation from perceptual limitations and limited-capacity short-term memory.


Book Synopsis The Psychology of Attention by : Harold Pashler

Download or read book The Psychology of Attention written by Harold Pashler and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 1999-07-26 with total page 516 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the past two decades, attention has been one of the most investigated areas of research in perception and cognition. However, the literature on the field contains a bewildering array of findings, and empirical progress has not been matched by consensus on major theoretical issues. The Psychology of Attention presents a systematic review of the main lines of research on attention; the topics range from perception of threshold stimuli to memory storage and decision making. The book develops empirical generalizations about the major issues and suggests possible underlying theoretical principles. Pashler argues that widely assumed notions of processing resources and automaticity are of limited value in understanding human information processing. He proposes a central bottleneck for decision making and memory retrieval, and describes evidence that distinguishes this limitation from perceptual limitations and limited-capacity short-term memory.