Page 6 - index
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RESEARCH, ANALYSIS & TRENDS
Is smart tech making us dumb?
A giant humpback whale breaching the waves right in would happen if we invested the time technology saves
front of you is a magnificent sight – a once in a lifetime us more wisely?
experience. Photographer Eric Smith recently captured
such a sighting on camera, but it went viral for all the Thinking slower to work better
wrong reasons: as those aboard looked on in wonder, a
man was flicking through Facebook on his mobile phone Daniel Kahneman’s seminal book, ‘Thinking, Fast and
and missed the entire thing. The photographer told CBS Slow’, contains the central thesis that there are two
News that a whale and her calf were “flapping, breach- modes of thought: ‘System 1’ is fast, instinctive and
ing, jumping, mouths eating fish,” but the man never emotional; ‘System 2’ is slower, more deliberative and
budged. He has five photographs of the man who was more logical. Difficulties arise when we try to solve
busy with his phone as the whales danced around the large, complex problems using fast ‘System 1’ thinking.
surface of the boat. The caption below the picture on When ‘System 2’ thinking is deliberately put in to ac-
multiple sites reads: “A sign of the times?” tion, with the brain given enough time to allow it to per-
colate, great things can be achieved. In fact, many of
Similarly, Microsoft recently pitted a goldfish against a the smart technologies that stand accused of dumbing
millennial in a proverbial ‘stare-down’ – a game of who down a generation would have been designed using
can focus longer? The goldfish won. Studies link the ‘System 2’ thinking.
goldfish’s victory (and our increasing distraction) to our
growing dependence on disruptive technologies that What if the time we gain from new technologies could
bombard our thought processes and demand our atten- be put to good use in pursuit of slower thinking? In fu-
tion. Is it true that smarter technology is making us all ture, the organizations that embrace a two-speed work
dumber – and if it is – should we be worried? Is there a environment will be the ones that thrive. They will save
need for businesses to do something about it? What
6 Asian eMarketing - July 2016: Video Marketing & Advertising: Trends, Strategies & Potentials
6
Is smart tech making us dumb?
A giant humpback whale breaching the waves right in would happen if we invested the time technology saves
front of you is a magnificent sight – a once in a lifetime us more wisely?
experience. Photographer Eric Smith recently captured
such a sighting on camera, but it went viral for all the Thinking slower to work better
wrong reasons: as those aboard looked on in wonder, a
man was flicking through Facebook on his mobile phone Daniel Kahneman’s seminal book, ‘Thinking, Fast and
and missed the entire thing. The photographer told CBS Slow’, contains the central thesis that there are two
News that a whale and her calf were “flapping, breach- modes of thought: ‘System 1’ is fast, instinctive and
ing, jumping, mouths eating fish,” but the man never emotional; ‘System 2’ is slower, more deliberative and
budged. He has five photographs of the man who was more logical. Difficulties arise when we try to solve
busy with his phone as the whales danced around the large, complex problems using fast ‘System 1’ thinking.
surface of the boat. The caption below the picture on When ‘System 2’ thinking is deliberately put in to ac-
multiple sites reads: “A sign of the times?” tion, with the brain given enough time to allow it to per-
colate, great things can be achieved. In fact, many of
Similarly, Microsoft recently pitted a goldfish against a the smart technologies that stand accused of dumbing
millennial in a proverbial ‘stare-down’ – a game of who down a generation would have been designed using
can focus longer? The goldfish won. Studies link the ‘System 2’ thinking.
goldfish’s victory (and our increasing distraction) to our
growing dependence on disruptive technologies that What if the time we gain from new technologies could
bombard our thought processes and demand our atten- be put to good use in pursuit of slower thinking? In fu-
tion. Is it true that smarter technology is making us all ture, the organizations that embrace a two-speed work
dumber – and if it is – should we be worried? Is there a environment will be the ones that thrive. They will save
need for businesses to do something about it? What
6 Asian eMarketing - July 2016: Video Marketing & Advertising: Trends, Strategies & Potentials
6
