I am noticing a lot of connections between Richard Restak’s Attention Deficit: The Brain Syndrome of Our Era and Sam Anderson’s In Defense of Distraction. Both discuss how our brains being distracted can actually be beneficial in different ways. Restak talks about how ADHD can be useful in the workplace and Anderson discusses how “distraction” is just “following your attention.”

Restak and Anderson both discuss how technology is the root of this distractedness in our world today because it has our brains shifting focus from one thing to another at a much faster pace than ever before. They also both build on this to say that our brains could be developing and adjusting to meet these faster speeds of thinking which could therefore be improving our brains.

Restak and Anderson both also discuss multitasking and how it is not possible. Restak focuses on what exactly multitasking is and why we can do some things like chew gum and walk but can’t listen to two conversations at once whereas Anderson says that multitasking is a myth and when you think you’re doing it, you’re actually just switching your focus rapidly between multiple things.