📘 Part 3: Concentration

This episode's vocabulary

Detrimental (adj.) - causing harm or damage.

Permissive  (adj.) - allowing a wide range of choices, esp. in an area where there have traditionally been rules that had to be obeyed.

Curation (noun) - the selection and care of objects to be shown in a museum or to form part of a collection of art, an exhibition, etc.

Supposedly (adverb) - used to show that you do not believe that something you have been told is true.

Detail-oriented (adj.) - very interested in and paying a lot of attention to details.

To preserve (verb) - to keep something as it is, especially in order to prevent it from decaying or being damaged or destroyed.

Cognition (noun) - the use of conscious mental processes.

Eternal (adj.) - lasting forever or for a very long time.the use of conscious mental processes.

Temperament (noun) - the part of your character that affects your moods and the way you behave.

To go through the roof (idiom) - to rise to a very high level.

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Questions and Answers

M: Let's talk about concentration. Do you think technology will harm children's ability to concentrate?

R: Oh, in and of itself, no. But of course, anything, if not used properly could have a detrimental effect like, if you have a constant flow of novelty, especially novelty that is attractive, then you might not focus on things which are important, like schoolwork or writing in a schoolwork book, for example.

M: Why is it more difficult for children to concentrate nowadays than in the past?

R: I'm not really sure, to be honest, the generation before always complains about the current generation. However, let's assume that that's correct. We have a greater access to new forms of entertainment than before. And the formats are equally varied. There's also the question of increased access and more permissive social norms. So that might be why it's more difficult if indeed it is.

M: How can we help children to stay focused?

R: Well, that will entirely depend on what you want them to focus on. If it's schoolwork, then maybe varying the modes of input and presentation and practice will be helpful. If we talk about entertainment, then that's a problem, which basically takes care of itself.

M: But what do people usually do to help children stay focused like on a regular basis, like parents, for example?

R: Well, they might give them some motivation to stay focused, so some sort of reward or they could, well, the teacher in this case, might change the format and make it more engaging.

M: What kinds of jobs require high concentration at work?

R: Well, they probably all do now. And if not, then at least a degree of concentration. I suppose the typical answer is something that involves details like art curation, or editing, any job where people have to notice the small things since that's where the devil is supposedly. You know, to be honest, it depends on your table as well. Some teachers are extremely detail-oriented. But if you're like me, then you just put the big ideas in place and move on to the next thing.

M: What can employers do to help employees to stay focused?

R: Well, there's a variety of carrots and sticks that we could go on about a great length. But really, you just need to hire the right people. I mean, ideally, you would get someone invested in the business and its culture, and they will likely work very hard to preserve it after their basic needs, like job security and money or med.

M: Can exercise help people improve concentration?

R: I suppose to improve cognition, but I'm not too sure about concentration, specifically. I mean, you need a lot of concentration to get good at exercise and improve, but whether that's the result of the exercise or vice versa, or perhaps they feed into each other, you would have to ask an expert. I'm not sure how you would measure or prove the connection one way or the other.

M: What distractors are there in people's life these days?

R: It's probably easy to say what isn't distracting, there are some things which are eternal, like family members, issues related to immediate needs. Nowadays, I suppose social media and constant notifications demanding attention are modern, but they all relate to social interaction, which has always been with us. So perhaps it's easier to say that the distractors are the same, but the format has changed.

M: Why can it be hard for some people to focus?

R: Well, we already talked about temperament. Some people are less able to focus on one thing, but compensate by being extremely creative. In a minority of cases, there might be medical issues or mental illness, and if the media is to be believed then the number of distractions is going through the roof right now. So that's just a few of the reasons why it might be difficult.

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