Cal Newport on Ann patchett

Function: The BIS is responsible for sensitivity to punishment, non-reward, and novel situations. It regulates avoidance behavior.
Emotional Responses: It is associated with feelings of anxiety, fear, and apprehension. When activated, it can lead to cautious or inhibited behavior.
Neurobiological Basis: The BIS is thought to involve brain regions such as the hippocampus and amygdala, which are associated with processing risk and fear.

Creative insight of any type — be it business strategy, an ad campaign, or computer code — requires cognitive space to emerge. It doesn’t take much daily activity before original thought is starved of the neuronal nutriments required to grow.

Modern knowledge work, if anything, is a shallow distraction generation machine. A professional schedule riven with email, Slack, and calendar invites is one that cannot also support whatever form of inspired thought moves the needle in your particular field.

And yet, how many of us are serious about blocking off and protecting significant amounts of time to do nothing but think? To act, in other words, like Ann Patchett on her green meditation poof? It is perhaps pathetic that we’ve come to a point where something as natural as creativity requires artificial support, but it is where we are. We should start acknowledging this reality.

Cal Newport on ann patchett

#lit