Mental Bandwidth

I have recently been quite intrigued by the concept of "mental bandwidth." When we exercise, we are quite conscious of our exertion. You wouldn't sprint unnecessarily or repeatedly lift extremely heavy weights. You wouldn't make random and erratic movements for fear of injury.

So why are we not as conscientious with our mind which (though incorrect) operates similar to a muscle? The brain, for example, consumes 20% of our daily calories. Willpower, discipline, patience can run out. And yet cue the list of common distractions: email, social media, smartphones, computers, open office spaces, and the "instafication" of everything. Being thoughtful is less important than speed. Post the story online ASAP with the geolocation.

I recently have been reading two books "Your Brain at Work" & "Deep Work" and both discuss being very mindful of our cognitive capacity. Technology has evolved a lot quicker than our brains. Our ability to process information is quite limited, and yet we use it on shallow work (i.e. responding to 16 back and forth emails).

It also made me extrapolate to our broader society: if we are so worried making ends meet, being a good spouse, family member, friend, and coworker -- where do we have time to consider current events? Who should we vote for? How will a particular policy impact me? After all, we need to figure out the train timings to get from work to our kid's baseball game.

As a result given the constraint of our mental bandwidth and time, policy is often made and pushed through by those who have deep vested interest: lobbying groups. These lobbying groups may not always have the public's interest in mind.

I think quite a bit about Thomas Jefferson's quote, "An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people." What if all the demands of modern day life makes it tougher to be "educated"?

What will the consequences be?

I will now publish this post and answer that email.