Behaviorism at Walden Two : Reading Odell and Skinner

In my essay, I discuss the aspects of “How to Do Nothing” by Jenny Odell as well as Walden Two by B.F Skinner. I found that Odell’s use of Skinner’s book propelled her arguments on the strengths and weaknesses of different types of communes. Walden Two is one where both Odell and I saw it as far too controlling as my essay discusses, and the use of behavioral and social sciences come into play with how a society like this is run. Odell speaks of how Walden Two is a commune that is more on the side of optimistic, but rigid and a less idealistic place, rather than one of disorganization and chaos. An interesting revelation is the fact that the Attention Economy also used behavioral type science to pull people in, in somewhat harmful ways. In my essay I discuss these ideas and others as well.

Link: https://eporette.medium.com/behaviorism-at-walden-two-reading-odell-and-skinner-4e6227a640e9

Writing 11: Overcoming the Distractions of the Attention Economy in the Environment of Remote Learning

Throughout reading “How to Do Nothing”, I couldn’t help but notice the strong emphasis on the impacts the attention economy, more specifically technology and social media, have on us today. Odell uses the idea that we can become so distracted by social media, and have such strong urges to it, that we find ourselves wasting so much time mindlessly using leisurely apps. My essay focuses on this topic and how the current situation of remote learning during this pandemic ties together. Students, such as myself, are finding it much easier to get even more distracted by their phones and other technological devices, that doing work stuck at home is much harder than on campus, where you‘d either have other distractions, or are more compelled to get work done since your life is surrounded by academics. I then try to find a way of how to resist the distractions and urges of this attention economy where students can use methods of digital detox and limits to make remote learning easier and have more time to efficiently use.

One quote that I loved from the book is as follows, “It is the invasive logic of commercial social media, and its financial incentive to keep us in a profitable state of anxiety, envy, and distraction” (Odell xii). Commercial social media is what these companies use to addict users and psychologically cater their apps to get the users to keep coming back for more view time, clicks, and essentially money. This is one of the main reasons why so many people, especially young people who have had access to social media for most of their life, are finding themselves losing time to focus on their priorities of school, and instead are wasting hours each day scrolling through feeds. I hope to try and inform my readers about these harms and how we as students today can use methods such as parental controls, limit/schedule setting, and simply self-control from certain apps and devices at times to escape the distractions the attention economy has made on us.

Writing 4

As I started reading “How to do Nothing” again, I became even more interested in Odell’s writing and how she talks about anti-productivity and doing nothing. Again, she uses more of her experiences and things she has learned, to shift the reader’s perception and make them think. The main thing I dug into in my first writing piece was Odell’s idea of the natural world around us and how many take in for granted in many different ways. Going with that I also talked of the connection of the natural world, the importance of anti-productivity, and the social construct of time that Odell talks about. These things can go hand-in-hand in helping one reach some sort of self-enlightenment as well as learn, notice, and experience more. 

One thing I failed to mention more of in my previous writing was Odell’s point of technology and social media and how they distract so many people from the natural world I talked about. For hours and hours, people (including myself) play games, scroll through feeds, and watch media, for the most part mindlessly. This is exactly what Odell goes against in her writing, although she doesn’t mean that we should just get rid of phones. The main idea is that we should build more of a relationship with our devices and go through a detox of sorts. Odell talks a lot about Levi Felix and his work with Digital Detox/Camp Grounded and how it came to. Felix was one who came by way too much pressure due to technology and even suffered physical distress due to how much stress he experienced in his work with Causecast. Eventually he decided to “disconnect” and he founded Camp Grounded which was inspired by The Burning Man and was a resort type getaway where visitors were cut off from technology and their phones and participated in activities with others. This helped Felix himself with countering stress and made way to help others and spread the word of digital detox. This also goes hand-in-hand with Epicurus’ “The Garden” and the commune movement of the 60s. Even in times without the technology and phones that distract us, people always tried to find ways to escape the rush and distraction of society and find some place of solace and peace. This also connects back with the Rose Garden Odell would visit, that was her get away and place for her to let her mind free and do “nothing”.

One thing I start to do is connect bits and pieces to my own experiences and life, almost putting myself in Odell’s place, trying to learn and feel more. Growing up, my school district and community always pushed students to do as much as they can. To be involved, and stay involved was one thing that was told to us every year from middle school and up to graduation. They told us that always having a club, sport, or class to focus on and keep up busy would only benefit us in the long run. This idea may benefit us in terms of good grades or getting into college, but in terms of actually learning and finding out what we want to do in the future, this is not efficient. Students have so much on their plate and when one kid has so many things on their mind, work to do, and places to go, it can almost block their sense of learning, and they just do tasks like a machine, waiting to be done going through the program. 

Going along with the trouble of doing too much and the need for personal solace, I connect another thing in my life where I have been able to kind of have my own getaway from technology and the rush. My family and I have a house a bit upstate in Sullivan County. Actually, both my mom and dad have their own house up there in the same town (my mom got her own when they got divorced). The town is called Yulan and it is a very small, rural-ish town with many lakes and woods. The catch is that there is very little cell service and at my mom’s house, there is no WiFi. Every summer we always go up for a couple days at a time and when I go to my moms, my phone becomes that useless “brick” Odell mentions. I take my time away from social media and do things I would rarely do at home like go on walks, read, and just use the time to think more about whatever is going on in my life. I like this quote by Odell, she says, “we absolutely require distance and time to be able to see the mechanisms we thoughtlessly submit to”. This absolutely fits in with the whole narrative of needing that away time and solace from the bustle of media and tech. 

The main thing I’m getting at is that when you combine both thought processes of detoxing and limiting your phone/media use with the opposition of having to be busy all the time, one can further their ability to let their mind free or do “nothing”. People can use this time of thinking to help them in internal/external conflicts, relationships, shifting perspectives,  brainstorming, and even their work.

Defining Odell and Her Writing

by Ethan Porette

Watching the Dragon Tree | @jermilex on DeviantArt

I feel that one of Odell’s main points is to try to tell people to think more about how they spend their time because time itself is a currency. She focuses on being curious, and one with your surroundings to take in things that could help you perceive life in ways you never thought. There are so many things that the world/government/big business/mainstream media tries to streamline, dumb down, and generalize to make people be less curious and thoughtful in their daily lives. You’re told to be productive, but one thing Odell says is that anti-productivity can help in something such as brainstorming, thinking, and learning about more things that could eventually help you in your main focus. For example, if you take breaks in your work to go out on a walk in a public space, you can notice things you may not have ever seen or thought about. These things can help you brainstorm and focus on the more important things in either your work or just general life. Obscure, or “anti-” things are some of the most important factors in creativity. 

Odell definitely tends to seem drawn to things related to public space, nature, and community. She often talks about the Rose Garden in Oakland as a little get away place for her to set her mind and thoughts free. The Morcom Rose Garden is a sanctuary in a big city where people can escape the noisy, dirty city life and experience a tid-bit of fresh nature tucked away. The author uses bird-watching as a way of escapism and looking into a whole other species’ world. She notes that as she watches them she thinks of how the birds, and us, humans all live in the same world, impacting and influencing each other daily and people should be more aware outside of their tunneled head-space.

Outside of the Rose Garden and just outside her window, Odell talks a lot about the crows that come by her building regularly. She points out how she’s noticed crows and birds her whole life, but recently she has come more aware of what they actually do and are capable of. She cites that she learned that crows can actually recognize human faces from Jennifer Ackerman’s The Genius of Birds. She’s astonished at how they can remember and even perceive some people as good or bad and that they also have routines and things of the sort. All this about the crows really astonished her and made her think really hard about how all living things share the same ground, the same air, the same world. Humans are animals and we know this, but when you really think about it, life seems surreal and it’s almost like you just want to know more about what is out there and what else do we not know.

The author also brings up the Old Survivor redwood tree that is the last of its ancient old-growth kind that still dwells in Oakland’s outlying hills. Old Survivor itself is a living thing and has been around for centuries and has “seen” what the world has done and how it has changed. Odell talks of the 4th century story of “The Useless Tree” and how the loggers did not appreciate the uniqueness of the tree he sees, but eventually the tree confronts the man and asks why he thought this tree was worthless. This relates to Old Survivor because 19th century loggers ripped down all the old-growth trees apart from Old Survivor because it was different looking, even though on the inside it was the same. These stories go hand-in-hand with Odell’s point of how some people don’t appreciate certain worldly things and are so narrow-minded or even lazy in some cases that they miss out on ideas and experiences and you may regret missing. She also seems to base a lot of her research on creativity focused works such as the lecture by John Cleese and the art pieces done by Eleanor Coppola and Scott Polach. Both the lectures and art installations put forth the idea and importance of community as well as the way that time is just a social construct that almost puts too much pressure on people to rush or “use it wisely”. 

Jenny Odell is a very artistic writer who also uses politics, economics, media, a lot of modern and even ancient research to shift perceptions and captivate readers . She has a vast amount of sources and examples for all the points she tries to make to validate her messages. She takes her strengths of her community, family, education, and daily experiences to bring attention to what she believes is important in her writing. She is very observational and passionate in her work which makes her a great writer and educator.