Distraction~~A Tool For Good Or Evil!!

Distraction is the divided attention of an individual or group from the chosen object of attention onto the source of distraction. Distraction is caused by: the lack of ability to pay attention; lack of interest in the object of attention; or the great intensity, novelty or attractiveness of something other than the object of attention. Distractions come from both external sources, and internal sources. Multitasking could also be considered as distraction in situations requiring full attention on a single object (e.g. sports, academic tests, performance).

Wikkipedia strikes again! I read that and I either had an epiphany as to the meaning of 'distraction' or a mental orgasm caused by the bullshit that people pour into making a simple concept complicated. Putting it simply 'I do not want to think about that or do that today so I will think or do this instead'.

"Hutchison's Law: Any occurrence requiring undivided attention will be accompanied by a compelling distraction.”~~Robert Bloch

The teacher says 'Children may I have your undivided attention?' The children hear 'The teacher just said look out the window.'  You all know that to be true and you all did it when at school.

In some way our minds want to protect us from things it feels are detrimental to our being; even if what is being said or rained down upon us is information we actually need. I believe distraction is one more built in protective device but unlike other protective devices we possess; distraction can be dangerous. Texting or talking while driving are examples where distraction may become a dangerous.

“The bosses of our mass media, press, radio, film and television, succeed in their aim of taking our minds off disaster. Thus, the distraction they offer demands the antidote of maximum concentration on disaster.”~~Ernst Fischer

How many times have we listened to news shows, on a plethora of subjects, and told ourselves that we need to stop watching and move on but we just can not seem to remove our attention form the television screen or move far from ear shot of our radios. The mass media knows that if they bombard us with information, to the point of overkill, we will be distracted from other tasks and pour our concentration into their distraction. They use our basic fears to hold is in this distracted state. The recent disaster in Japan is evidence of this phenomenon. While the plight of the Japanese people deserves our utmost attention; the media used unfounded and sometimes down right untrue information to distract us into concentrating on this story. In reality the disaster in itself, told truthfully would have held my interest.

I will refrain from going into the use of distraction by governments as I have not had breakfast yet and do feel the need to partake of a well balanced meal before my day begins. Suffice it to say that the governments of the world are 'Masters Of Distraction' and not even such great story tellers as Mark Twain or Charles Dickens can spin a better yarn then government.

Finally; my thank you to distraction and what started me thinking about it today. Last night my Second Life partner, Thinkie, said "I can not sleep because I will go bankrupt at my cafe if I do" and "I have found a way to keep my cafe approval rating up by blocking the cafe doors, when I am out of food, and not allowing customers to leave".  Both those statements gave me my best laughs of the past week.

Thinkie has been playing Cafe World on Face Book. It has distracted her from other things that neither of us want to really think about.

Thank God for distraction!!

Love ya,

Night