Ep. 273: A Deep Response to Distraction

Ep. 273: A Deep Response to Distraction

A viral video making the rounds recently argues that the key to promoting learning is to deliver education in apps that are equally addictive as social media. Cal takes a closer look at the brain science behind this claim and argues why it is fundamentally impossible to beat attention engineered apps at their own game. We shouldn’t, however, give up hope, as our brain has a completely unrelated motivation system, built on a behavior called episodic future thinking (EFT), that we can leverage to make deep activities like learning seem more rewarding than the short term distractions beckoning from our phones. Mastering the EFT system is indeed critical to cultivating a deep life.

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvo

Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia

Deep Dive: Can we make learning as addictive as social media? [2:33]

- Can I be happy in a job that doesn’t require me to learn? [33:44]

- How can I fight deep procrastination to learn better? [40:52]

- How can I identify the school for my kid to learn better? [47:11]

- How can I reflect on work concepts without feeling the urge to work? [51:48]

- How does Ultralearning apply to Slow Productivity? [55:36]

- CALL: Recommendations on learning [58:02]

CASE STUDY: Designing a system to learn [1:00:50]

The 5 books Cal read in October 2023 [1:10:14]

Links:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6FORpg0KVo

youtu.be/wmdG-uZk6JY?si=2_S6Mer1VnBJE3Wv&t=120

sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2018/dopamine-smartphones-battle-time/

calnewport.com/the-father-of-deliberate-practice-disowns-flow/

ideas.ted.com/mental-time-travel-is-a-great-decision-making-tool-this-is-how-to-use-it/

Thanks to our Sponsors:

zocdoc.com/deep

hensonshaving.com/cal

blinkist.com/deep

expressvpn.com/deep

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episoder(404)

Ep. 378: The Lost Art of Long Thinking

Ep. 378: The Lost Art of Long Thinking

We often talk on this show about how digital devices undermine our ability to consume more complicated and meaningful ideas. But what about our ability to produce such ideas from scratch? In this epis...

10 Nov 20251h 28min

Ep. 377: The Case Against Superintelligence

Ep. 377: The Case Against Superintelligence

Techno-philosopher Eliezer Yudkowsky recently went on Ezra Klein's podcast to argue that if we continue on our path toward superintelligent AI, these machines will destroy humanity. In this episode, C...

3 Nov 20251h 31min

Ep. 376: The Lincoln Protocol

Ep. 376: The Lincoln Protocol

How do you escape a world where constant digital distractions and darkness threatens to pull you down? Maybe take a page out of Abraham Lincoln’s life. In this episode, Cal argues that Lincoln faced a...

27 Okt 20251h 23min

Ep. 375: Did OpenAI Just Kill Social Media?

Ep. 375: Did OpenAI Just Kill Social Media?

Ep. 375: Did OpenAI Just Kill Social Media?OpenAI has been making waves recently with their release of their Sora 2 video generation model, which they have launched alongside a TikTok-style social med...

20 Okt 20251h 36min

Ep. 374: This is Your Brain on Phones

Ep. 374: This is Your Brain on Phones

It’s hard to cultivate a deep life when you cannot go more than a few minutes without checking your phone. In this episode, Cal looks closer at the precise neural mechanisms at play that make the phys...

13 Okt 20251h 38min

Ep. 373: The Internet’s Best Advice for Reinventing Your Life

Ep. 373: The Internet’s Best Advice for Reinventing Your Life

In 2023, I published an episode about resetting your life that became one of my most popular. In the years since, multiple major podcasters and YouTubers have done their own videos on the same theme. ...

6 Okt 20251h 36min

Ep. 372: Decoding TikTok’s Algorithm

Ep. 372: Decoding TikTok’s Algorithm

Last week, it was announced that Oracle would take over operation of TikTok in the US. One of the primary reasons proposed for this deal is that it was in national interests for us to take over contro...

29 Sep 20251h 26min

IN-DEPTH: Focus like a Nobel Prize Winner (w/ Brian Keating)

IN-DEPTH: Focus like a Nobel Prize Winner (w/ Brian Keating)

In this episode of IN-DEPTH, Cal is joined by Dr. Brian Keating, the Chancellor’s Distinguished Professor of Physics at UCSD, and one of the most prolific popularizers of science around (you may have ...

25 Sep 20251h 4min

Populært innen Fakta

fastlegen
dine-penger-pengeradet
relasjonspodden-med-dora-thorhallsdottir-kjersti-idem
rss-strid-de-norske-borgerkrigene
treningspodden
jakt-og-fiskepodden
rss-sunn-okonomi
foreldreradet
merry-quizmas
gravid-uke-for-uke
hverdagspsyken
rss-mann-i-krise-med-sagen
sinnsyn
fryktlos
level-up-med-anniken-binz
lederskap-nhhs-podkast-om-ledelse
rss-kunsten-a-leve
hagespiren-podcast
teknologi-og-mennesker
rss-impressions-2