Surface Skimmer or Depth Diver?

Thinking about the topic of details made me remember the advent of USA TODAY, the bright news-at-a glance paper that debuted in 1982. It was conceived with the idea that the average American reader and advertiser wanted news that was quick, easy to read and not too disturbing.

Today, according to USA publisher Gannett's website, USA TODAY is the largest selling paper in the nation. http://www.gannett.com/about/history.htm

I remember my grandmother saying at the time, "This is going to be the start of a trend. People don't want to think deeply about the news. They want a snapshot that doesn't get them too involved. Attention spans are getting shorter." She was a learning disabilities teacher at the forefront--she was still in the business of convincing teachers and parents that learning disabilities really existed.

My thought this morning: is this an evolutionary response to information overload? By necessity, we have to filter information at a rate never before experienced for humankind. In order to grasp a broad picture, we have to be skimmers, don't we?

But then again, maybe it's time for our critical thinking skills to gain more development than ever before. We must teach ourselves and our children to challenge, research and dive deeper in order to really understand the world we create every day. It's become far too easy to have a moment of sympathy for the victims of a devastating accident then turn to the funnies.

I also don't advocate wallowing in misery. What a balance this demands! Taking the time to go a little deeper into what we read and have a discriminating wisdom about what we decide in regard to it is more vital than ever. It is a discipline that I fear is fading.

But it is one that I am going to work harder to cultivate. I like the quiet of the deep. I just need to remember how pleasant and warm it is on the surface sometimes.

Is the Devil in the Details?

I've heard it said both ways: God is in the details. The Devil is in the details. One thing I've certainly noticed is that somehow most of us walk around as if we are exempt from the details.

This blog is meant to explore some of the details most of us take for granted every day. From knowing where my water comes from ( I think it's a reservoir not far from here, but I'm not sure) to the logic behind the color of my cold medication, I want to stop consciously and recognize the effort that goes into making most of my life a seamless walk.

We buy chicken cut up, mashed into styrofoam containers and wrapped in clear plastic with little regard for the process that got it from egg to store freezer. The fact that it was once a breathing living creature escapes most of us. We care about the price per pound. But there is another cost that we don't really think about--and I'm not just talking about animal rights.

Did you ever stop to think about the people, machines, labor, transportation, inventions, inspections and time it took to make it possible for you to toss that three pound package of chicken into your cart?

Don't know why I picked chicken. It could be anything from tofu to Oreos.

I'd like to explore consumerism and how unconscious it has become in this blog. I'd like to understand why some people seem to rely on others to handle the details in their lives without understanding the levels of coordination and work it takes for people to have a peaceful, easy and workable existence.

I guess that understanding the Details = Consciousness. Or at least an approach to it. I'll try not to wander too much from topic to topic, but sometimes, straying off the sidewalk leads to some interesting exploration.

Or poison ivy. Or mad dogs and Englishmen.