Cultivating the mind for the digital age

1st draft

Contents

• Initiation
• Cultivation
• Consumption

We are going to see how, we can have a digital mindset shift, which allows us to enter the digital information superhighway at will

and still come out with a digitally sane and calm mind.

The reason why this mental shift is required, is primarily to be able to face these things

• massive non linear domino like changes
• information overload while choosing
• the steering hands of algorithms

Initiation into the digital network

• As the game begins, you have the choice to initiate the protocol rituals to deeply signify

  and understand the importance how every choice and every click of the button can shape the life we have.

The main principles

• See the mind as the main and ultimate tool, use it first and foremost before any endeavour you dive into.
• Then come, the other powerful tools, i.e servers, computers which allow you to shape your will into the digital network.
• You can either shape an algorithm or allow an algorithm to shape you. Choose wisely.
• Have a strong clear request that needs to be fulfilled, and the ideal response will be found in the network.

Digital mental hygiene cultivation

Hygiene is cleanliness, and in much the same way digital mental hygiene is the cleanliness of your digital identity, assets and platform usage habits.

A strong, clean and a regularly maintained online hygiene will buy peace of mind, not only now, but also prevent unforeseen events of the future.

Some digital hygiene practices

• to clear digital trails of your identity on platforms that you no longer use
• see which all websites expose sensitive information about you publicly (a simple google search of your name will do)
• whatever you post online, post as if it will be permanently stored, archive and save important stuff as if it is going to be removed sooner or later.

How to use apps and still be in control

• A proper digital hygiene allows you to keep your surrounding digital space clean and your control
  • knowing which data resides where and why and how to access it or extricate it.
• In that digital space, exist apps which are your primary interfaces
• So a good control on how we use our apps helps us achieve a proper mental hygiene
• Prior to a good control on the usage of our apps, is the primary aspect of the cultivation of attention.

Cultivating attention in digital age

• Attention is like a samurai sword, if wielded properly it can help us untangle complex problems or cut our skin and hurt us.
• Honing your attention is a more important step than seeing which apps/services rule over your life.
• Honing ones attention is extremely important because
• Attention is the most richest commodity, one can buy, forget about everything and just remember this.
  • Every app, every notification, every service is vying for a piece of your attention.
• There is much content on how to hone one’s attention, and is outside the scope of our discussion here.
  • However, we share some rule of thumbs on how to go about on deciding on how to decide.

Digital diet: how to consume algorithms

• Some rule of thumbs that work out for me are

  • Older the problem, the older the solution and newer the problem, more recent the solution.

• In terms of honing attention, what to eat, what principles to live by, the algorithms are best found in old literature.

  • While reading, applying older solutions, a good chunk of time has to be invested. (deep work)

• In terms of what to do for a living, what business to work on, what technology to use, the latest current trends tend to offer high rewards.

  • While implementing on latest trends, high frequency iterations, hit and trial methods are often coupled with low attention spans

• understanding of the reader

  • every common person should be able to read this

• degree of abstraction: too meta level

2nd draft

Digital mind cultivation Contents Initiation Cultivation Consumption We are going to see how we can have a digital mindset shift, which allows us to enter the digital information superhighway at will and still come out with a digitally sane and calm mind. The reason why this mental shift is required, is primarily to be able to face these things Massive non linear domino like changes Information overload while choosing The steering hands of algorithms A. Initiation into the digital network As the game begins, you have the choice to initiate the protocol rituals to deeply signify and understand the importance of how every choice and every click of the button can shape the life we have. The main principles See the mind as the main and ultimate tool, use it first and foremost before any endeavour you dive into. Then come, the other powerful tools, i.e servers, computers which allow you to shape your will into the digital network. You can either shape an algorithm or allow an algorithm to shape you. Choose wisely. Have a strong clear request that needs to be fulfilled, and the ideal response will be found in the network. B. Digital mental hygiene cultivation Hygiene is cleanliness, and in much the same way digital mental hygiene is the cleanliness of your digital identity, assets and platform usage habits. A strong, clean and a regularly maintained online hygiene will buy peace of mind, not only now, but also prevent unforeseen events of the future. Some digital hygiene practices (prescription) to clear digital trails of your identity on platforms that you no longer use see which all websites expose sensitive information about you publicly (a simple google search of your name will do) whatever you post online, post as if it will be permanently stored, archive and save important stuff as if it is going to be removed sooner or later. How to use apps and still be in control Good control on how we use our apps helps us achieve proper mental hygiene. In that digital space, exist apps which are your primary interfaces. Prior to a good control on the usage of our apps, is the primary aspect of the cultivation of attention. A proper digital hygiene allows you to keep your surrounding digital space clean and your control Knowing which data resides where and why and how to access it or extricate it. Cultivating attention in the digital age – How to go about deciding on how to decide. Attention is like a samurai sword, if wielded properly it can help us untangle complex problems or cut our skin and hurt us. Honing your attention is a more important step than …….. (…) seeing which apps/services rule over your life. Every app, every notification, every service is vying for a piece of your attention. Honing one’s attention is extremely important because Attention is the richest commodity, one can buy, forget about everything and just remember this. There is much content on how to hone one’s attention, and is outside the scope of our discussion here. Provide some good how-tos to your audience C. Digital diet: how to consume algorithms (more like direction than how-to) Some rule of thumbs that work out for me are Older the problem, the older the solution and newer the problem, the more recent the solution. In terms of honing attention, what to eat, what principles to live by, the algorithms are best found in old literature. (where can it be found) While reading, applying older solutions, a good chunk of time has to be invested. (deep work) In terms of what to do for a living, what business to work on, what technology to use, the latest current trends tend to offer high rewards. Implement on latest trends, ensure high frequency iterations, hit and trial methods coupled with low attention spans