Rapt book
Gallagher grapples with provocative questions-Can we train our focus? What’s different about the way creative people pay attention? Why do we often zero in on the wrong factors when making big decisions, like where to move?-driving us to reconsider what we think we know about attention.
![rapt book rapt book](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/uSQAAOSwzpNclxly/s-l300.jpg)
In Rapt, acclaimed behavioral science writer Winifred Gallagher makes the radical argument that the quality of your life largely depends on what you choose to pay attention to and how you choose to do it. No- I found the narration weirdly inflected and very patronising - particularly the attempt to sound 'humorous' at the numerous sections where the author is talking about something that might challenge our perceptions.Winifred Gallagher revolutionizes our understanding of attention and the creation of the interested life Would you be willing to try another one of Laural Merlington’s performances? Less time on the setup more time on the tactics and better critical engagement with the research (Rather than simply breathlessly listing studies and findings.)
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How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?
#Rapt book how to#
No- having really enjoyed (and used) Cal Newport's 'Deep Work' book I thought this would be helpful but I think it spends too much time setting up the importance of attention (Yeah I get it- I bought the book!) rather than the meat of the issue (focus, flow and how to filter.) The extended birdwatching example to illustrate ground up and top down focus was grindingly boring.A couple of clangers in the 'relationship' section (need to engage critically with the 'men are from mars women are from venus' stereotypical analysis of attention in relationships) and the work related chapter was, again, much lighter than Cal Newport's work- disappointing all round. Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not? Ironic, as the book is all about attention. This kind of content calls for far more variation in pitch, pace pausing and more expression to hold attention well.
![rapt book rapt book](https://cdn2.penguin.com.au/covers/400/9780375755378.jpg)
As such, the words go in one ear and out the other. She reads way too fast and she's too far from the microphone to sound intimate and engaging. It's just that she doesn't manage to bring the words alive. I just wish they'd chosen a different narrator - or at least made a more subtly nuanced recording. Nevertheless, as someone seriously interested self improvement I found it well worth my attention. Her words are a bit too big and grown-up for my taste lots of syllables, and she's not the best at telling engaging stories. She relies on a logical, left-brain, technical type of language throughout. Writing easily digestible prose is clearly not the author's strong point though. It's a psychology book of sorts - written with the aim of helping us develop better minds and it really is deep and insightful. Don't try driving, walking or doing household chores with this one on, or you'll miss out on what she has to say. If you get it you'll need to sit and listen to it without any distractions. That's because content has a fairly dense, text book-like tone to it. Good Content Spoiled By Rapid Reading SpeedĮssentially this is a very good book, but it's one you really have to work at to absorb. In asserting its groundbreaking thesis - the wise investment of your attention is the single most important thing you can do to improve your well-being - Rapt yields fresh insights into the nature of reality and what it means to be fully alive. No matter what your quotient of wealth, looks, brains, or fame, increasing your satisfaction means focusing more on what really interests you and less on what doesn't. In Rapt, Gallagher introduces us to a diverse cast of characters - artists and ranchers, birders and scientists - who have learned to do just that and whose stories are profound lessons in the art of living the interested life.
![rapt book rapt book](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1355906191l/8884322.jpg)
Gallagher grapples with provocative questions - Can we train our focus? What's different about the way creative people pay attention? Why do we often zero in on the wrong factors when making big decisions? - driving us to reconsider what we think we know about attention.Īs suggested by the expression "pay attention," this cognitive currency is a finite resource that we must learn to spend wisely. In Rapt, acclaimed behavioral science writer Winifred Gallagher makes the argument that the quality of your life largely depends on what you choose to pay attention to and how you choose to do it.