Ha! Perhaps TiddlyWiki folks overlap disproportionately with this cognitive pattern (ADHD). In order to gain traction on a task, I often need to back up and rework the *tools* (and/or the environment) in which I'm doing the task. To some degree, this is novelty-seeking (boredom-forestalling) behavior. But it's also a creative restlessness around unsatisfactory methods.
As for OP's ideas about thinking: pragmatists (such as Peirce) have been very insightful about the impossibility of questioning *everything* at once. We can be fallibilist and willing to question *anything* ... but must be standing on *some* habit of thought whenever we challenge another one. Last, I would caution here against confusing *thinking* with *information*. Thinking is a living process (semiosis, meaning-making, ever-shifting orientation to movement, perception, and intervention in the world). "Information" as a concept is bound too deeply to storable and fungible representations that function within existing structures and routines for interpretation/uptake. Of course, thinking becomes powerful through participating in exchanges of information, but thinking is more flexible than any "architecture" for information, since through thinking, we can tinker with those structures. So if you're curious about creativity and insight, be sure to attend to *activity* in addition to structure. Cheers, all! On Saturday, October 31, 2020 at 4:30:16 PM UTC-4 TiddlyTweeter wrote: > Charlie Veniot wrote: >> >> >> Everything (sensory and cognitive) competes for my attention. I've known >> all of my life (for as long as I can remember): when something is >> distracting me from my focus, the harder I try to ignore the distraction, >> the more energy goes into trying to ignore the distraction, I wind up >> having ever-increasing inability to maintain my focus on the thing that >> needs it. >> >> > Absolutely right. That is how it works. > > And learning how to quash it is *seriously* difficult. It IS Catch-22. > > So better for me to put the priority down for a quick moment and deal with >> the distraction and eliminate it. Scratch the itch, so to speak. If it is >> a thought, process the thought and/or write down a note for dealing with >> later. >> >> > TBH I think that is a decent approach. Its a real step, if you can. > > Best wishes > TT > > > >> Your info is ridiculously helpful. (Ironic process theory >> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironic_process_theory#:~:text=Ironic%20process%20theory%2C%20ironic%20rebound,more%20likely%20to%20imagine%20one.> >> ) >> >> >> >> >> Thanks ! >> >> >> >> On Saturday, October 31, 2020 at 3:15:20 PM UTC-3, TiddlyTweeter wrote: >>> >>> bimlas wrote: >>> >>> in order to create something radically new, you have to completely >>>> forget what you currently know about the world >>> >>> >>> A major problem with "conscious forgetting" is THE WHITE BEAR problem. >>> >>> Here is my instruction:* Whatever you do, never remember the White >>> Bear. * >>> >>> Forgotten it yet? :-) >>> >>> The solution is displacement. Prioritizing other thoughts. But this is >>> not a trivial issue. It is a serious cognitive reality. >>> >>> TT >>> >> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TiddlyWiki" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tiddlywiki/fe03f6a3-2888-48ae-9d6f-ba9ce5bba123n%40googlegroups.com.
