Low Information Diet
:: Jul 1, 11:47 AM

In April, after reading the Four Hour Workweek, I had incorporated what the author calls “the low information diet.” Which means, cutting out all unnecessary internet surfing, TV, talk radio, etc. that does not directly benefit your current goal or deliberately chosen interests. This was probably one of the most valuable things I took from the book, because from this “diet” I have learned to: 1) not check my email constantly 2) delete msn.com as my home URL and 3) love books for their portability, humor, and ability to escape.
Prior to taking on this challenge I had desperately pleaded with myself “But what about my daily dose of ‘All things considered’ or Terry? What about the weather? Won’t I feel clueless when people at work start talking about the latest gadget that has already found its way into the hands of 15 year-olds standing by me on the subway?”
Turns out, NPR is static just the same as FOX, I can figure out the weather by hearing people talk about it in the elevator, and gadget turnover is so fast that keeping track just takes time away from living my life. Lifting the burden of being “in-the-know” off my shoulders, was liberating.
I want to emphasize here that the key here is “low” not “zero.” We still need to fulfill our informational needs. The revolution is in filtering using Pareto principle (80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes). Being proactive and choosing my own media (like the Chinese government does for its people, like Rupert Murdoch does for Americans) has brought me to understand the true power of the Information Age. Rich versus more. Concentrated versus fluffy. Revelation versus instant gratification.
And after a while, everything else is just like the sound of a fly buzzing around much too close to my ear.

1. Welcome to the Luddite world. I have survived till now without texting, Facebook, indeed, with scant use of a cell phone ($25 a year and I always carry over remaining minutes).

   Pick and choose what you like – ignore the rest.

   – lakshman — lakshman    Jul 2, 05:54   

2. One wave I’d been on was that all media was bad because it was brainwashing and eerily sculpting, but after seeing WALL-E, I realized that John Lasseter (the head of Pixar) is a revolutionary, it’s like Rupert Murdoch Vs. John Lasseter in the battle of Owning the minds vs. Setting them free, and both have ample budgets.

   — Joe Stillwater    Jul 2, 17:54   

3. I have read sparkling reviews about WALL-E. I can not wait until it makes it to this side of the pacific. I also emphasize that all media is not bad. After all, if I didn’t believe in media, I would not possess the livelihood that I do. I would not be doing the work that I do nor would I be able to properly feed the hunger that my curiosity demands.
   However, I do second the sentiment to “Pick and choose what I like and ignore the rest.”

   — yoko    Jul 2, 20:20   

4. yoko- this is inspiring and reminds me that i need to read more books. i actually blame my lack of reading on NYC- i know that’s ridiculous, but i do think it’s given me ADD a bit. although maybe it’s not the city- maybe it’s the Information Age in general.

   i will say though that living in this city, i already live in a low-information cave, ironically. there’s so much going on here all the time, that i MUST just concentrate on things that interest me the most, or else my head will explode. it’s funny- even though i am in a place where any desired information is readily available to me, my world is still pretty small. i only read the NY Times on Wednesdays, and that’s only because of the food section. ha. i just found out George Carlin passed away via Facebook. yipes.

   the internet scares me. media empires scare me. i say less media, more books, more travel, more face-to-face time. although i guess that’s a bit hypocritical since i write a blog and my only form of communication these days is over IM. not ok.

   i actually just read this awesome short autobio by Haruki Murakami from the New Yorker. will send it over- it was really inspirational.

   Lakshman- where does one get a $25/year calling plan? that’s AWESOME.

   — kayoko    Jul 2, 21:20   

5. Kayoko, yes, the city will turn one into the victim of ADD. Perhaps because of this, I had to shut all of it out. Or else, I knew I would go crazy. The lack of focus the city encourages began to wear on me – I felt misguided and used. When I ponder a single subject for a few days it provides a much needed exercise in meditation.
   Given that, yes, we are both blog writers. And we produce media to contribute to the “madness.” But this is yet another form of meditation… sorting through one’s thoughts and feeling delighting in rearranging words and images. And if it makes you sleep any better at night, at least I can say confidently that I CHOOSE to read your blog posts. Ha!

   — yoko    Jul 2, 21:58   

6. Kayoko – I use a pay as you go plan from T-mobile. My $25 only gets me about 2 hours (or maybe 3 hours). I typically don’t talk anywhere near that much on the cell in a year, so the minutes get rolled over. (They send a message when either my time or my minutes are getting to the end and I can add on over the phone – toll free for that call, of course). I need to be bold and get the $10 option next time.

   I was also very late in acquiring a CD player, VCR, DVD, etc—- saved tons of money.

   — lakshman    Jul 3, 05:52