Stop Documenting, Start Experiencing | Hacker News Reader

Stop Documenting, Start Experiencing

blogs.hbr.org

61 pointsdmitriy_ko19 comments

This is something I always noticed sitting in lectures trying my best to listen (and writing occasional brief notes) while other students attempted to scribble as much content as they could into their notebooks. I think one of the main reasons that lectures are pedagogically terrible (that is, don’t lead to the learning they are supposed to) is that student audiences are too worried about writing things down to think about what it means.

Some of the most effective lectures I had at university were where the lecturer handed out notes covering the bulk of what was being covered in each lecture but then proceeded to talk around the notes providing context and working through examples - so not taking basically became an annotation, rather than a transcription, process.

If I write something down I'm far more likely to remember it than if I just sit back and listen. I never actually read my notes at university - they were purely to help me fix things in my mind. It drove me crazy when a lecturer forbade us from writing "because there are handouts."

You shouldn't assume that other people's learning mechanisms are the same as yours.

I disagree. It is one thing to take notes during a lecture, and it is totally another thing to take photos every five seconds in a concert. Different people learn differently, for some people writing actually helps them learn better. Also, writing on a paper in a class doesn't disturb other people around. Compare this with someone constantly taking photographs (complete with flash and stuff) in a concert. People around him/her also don't end up enjoying the concert.

I went to times square for new year's eve (first time for me). All around me, people were constantly taking photos, flashes everywhere. Totally ruined the experience (I didn't mind the cold, the crowd, noise etc, those were much better to tolerate than the constant flashes)

It seems so strange that those that own a computer, though they are the neatest of folks, keep desktops which to me evoke a big litter of icons chaotically strewn. And picture folders seldom rise much above this low bar, a numerical swarm of filenames which never can perform their old duty of bringing some peace to our eyes. That we might break these habits which haunt us, I offer some simple advice. In this case, as in life, I think it is wise: to give up those things we neither need nor want.

If Project Glass or its competing initiatives ever turn into a usable reality, perhaps we don't have to make the tradeoff between experiencing and documenting. (Even if it might be strange to wear those to your wedding.)

Maybe a strong MVP of head-mounted displays would focus on capturing and sharing, be it from Google or anyone else.

But then more documenting is happening, increasing overload for the recipients on the other end?

I find Project Glass and similar devices rather interesting. Google claims that it decreases the friction of having to "document" and "interact" with tech. If it makes it easier, then won't that just flood social networks? And having these benefits constantly available will be taxing for most users (ie paradox of choice).

What do you think?

I think it's a valid concern, but I'm not certain it would be a problem.

The social networks are already pretty good algorithmic filtering -- displaying to users what's relevant and interesting to them -- and they'll likely become better. In fact, if I had to guess whether Facebook was in more need of better content or better filtering at this moment, my guess would be on the content side. (But this is hard to evaluate as a user: how would I ever know if I'm missing great content due to bad filtering?)

What worries me a lot more is the prospect of everyone becoming a walking camera. I can hardly have an honest session of drunk karaoke without someone filming it on their smartphone. I wonder if I'd ever do anything if everyone carried cameras on their head.

This is not a new thought. From Rent (Jonathan Larson, 1996):

---

Roger: Mark hides in his work

Mark: From what?

Roger: From facing your failure, facing your loneliness, facing the fact you live a lie. Yes, you live a lie. Tell you why. You're always preaching not to be numb, when that's how you thrive. You pretend to create and observe, when you really detach from feeling alive.

Mark: Perhaps it's because I'm the one of us to survive.

---

For those unfamiliar with Rent, Mark is a documentary filmmaker who constantly has the camera rolling. To a great extent, technology has turned all of us into that, and Larson's observations apply.

What if Facebook suddenly just crashed? People all over the world would look up from their screens and start seeing reality again...

I cant go into public without seeing people staring into their devices. Its kind of interesting to notice how much like sheep people are. :)

Sheep have iphones?

Thanks for documenting this experience for us to ponder on as well.

As with many things, this is all about finding a healthy balance between the two.

+1 on the article for expressing something I've also thought about recently.

Some of the best story-tellers and happiest people I know take few pictures and have little twitter or Facebook presence.

In order to truly experience something at the level where you can recount it for the rest of your life, you have to be in the moment - not worried about documenting the moment.

Experience is fleeting. To the photograph analogy - having photographs lets you perceive time more slowly since you forget less of it.

Awesome article, but I'll continue to document.

And there's nothing wrong with that. It's when you go out of your way or spend most of your time at an event or place taking photos to share on social media that it becomes a problem.

The documentation will come handy when you are 80 and have nothing to do but look back at your life.

Why would one not have anything to do at the age of 80 (I'm not speaking about physical and/or mental disabilities here)?

Sure, there are people who would just sit there and do nothing, but anyone more creative should not see the age as a show-stopper. Couple of examples I have at hand, my father and my uncle, both around the above mentioned age, but fairly active in their fields (science and architecture). Not that they need to do it, they have already earned their fair share, it's just that they simply enjoy doing it. As opposed to sitting and doing nothing...

Anyway, my point is, why 'document' while you're young and then try to 're-live' the experience, if you could 'enjoy' while you're young and do something else enjoyable when you're older?

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