Knot Wisdom: Short Attn Span Theater

Ancient Egyptians visited Australia?

The Gosford glyphs (Australian Geographic)

(Wiki) The Gosford Glyphs, also known as Kariong Hieroglyphs, are a group of approximately 300 Egyptian-style hieroglyphs located in Kariong, Brisbane, Australia. They are found in an area known for its Aboriginal petroglyphs, between Gosford and Woy Woy, New South Wales, within the Brisbane Water National Park. Academics and authorities have tried to dismiss them as a hoax after their discovery in the 1970s, but there is no proof other than disbelief. These authorities are still attempting to prove the false belief that they were carved by ancient Egyptians about 4,500 years ago [1]. So far they have been unable to do so. But to think the ancient Egyptians made it not only to the Grand Canyon in the Southwest USA. More

• This can't be real, and we won't stand for it! The Gosford glyphs, debunked (Australian Geographic)
• Eds., Wisdom Quarterly assembled July 28, 2024

Short Attn Span Theater: Genius

• The editors of Wisdom Quarterly have collected this diverse batch of clickbait time consumers that make us wonder how we lived before TikTok taught us so much. Enjoy

Short Attn Span Theatre: Shaolin Yoga

Short Attention Span Theatre: Egypt Area 51

• TOO MUCH TIKTOK, Editors, Wisdom Quarterly

Short Attention Span Theater (viral videos)

Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention — and How to Think Deeply Again

The Middle (listentothemiddle.com)

The Middle with Jeremy Hobson is a weekly, live national call-in talk show aimed at elevating the voices of people in “the middle.”

[It is heard in Los Angeles on laist.com (kpcc.com, 89.3 FM, Thursdays at 10:00 pm), and tonight's show closed with an amazing segment by Johann Hari (johannhari.com) on cellphone and Internet addiction.]

• Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention - -and How to Think Deeply Again by Johann Hari (barnesandnoble.com)

Stolen Focus: Pay Attention (stolenfocusbook.com)

Americans who are geographically, politically, or philosophically in “the middle” are crucial in our politics, yet they are often ignored.

In the US, teenagers can focus on one task for only 65 seconds at a time, and office workers average only 3 minutes. Like many of us, author Johann Hari was finding that constantly switching from device to device and tab to tab was a diminishing and depressing way to live.

He tried all sorts of self-help solutions — even abandoning his cellphone for three months — but nothing seemed to work.

So he went on an epic journey across the world to interview the leading experts on human attention. He discovered that everything we think we know about this crisis is wrong.

We think our inability to focus is a personal failure to exert enough willpower over our devices. The truth is even more disturbing: Our focus has been stolen by powerful external forces that have left us uniquely vulnerable to corporations determined to raid our attention for their profit.

He found that there are 12 deep causes of this crisis, from the decline of mind-wandering to rising pollution, all of which have robbed some of our attention.

In Stolen Focus, he introduces readers to Silicon Valley dissidents who learned to hack human attention, and veterinarians who diagnose dogs with ADHD.

He explores a favela in Rio de Janeiro where they lost their attention in a particularly surreal way, and an office in New Zealand that discovered a remarkable technique to restore workers’ productivity.

Crucially, he learned how we can reclaim our focus — as individuals and as a society — if we are determined to fight for it.

Stolen Focus will transform the debate about attention and finally show us how to get it back. More

ABOUT: The Middle is a non-partisan, non-judgmental, non-condescending space where all can feel comfortable sharing their views and being part of the conversation. Veteran public radio host Jeremy Hobson is joined by two panel guests each week along with DJ Tolliver spinning tunes. Hosted by Jeremy Hobson Thursdays 10:00-11:00 pm.

THIS WEEK (July 11, 2024): ADDICTION TO PHONE, INTERNET, CONNECTION, SOCIAL MEDIA, COMPUTER SCREEN? IF SO, WHAT ABOUT IT? CALL (844) 4MI-DDLE (themiddleshow.radio@gmail.com) to talk to Host Jeremy Hobson, public radio journalist and former host of NPR’s Here & Now and Marketplace Morning Report. He grew up in the Midwest, where people don’t spend every waking minute thinking about politics -- but do have a lot of sway in American politics.

• Editors, Wisdom Quarterly; guest Johann Hari wit host Jeremy Hobson, The Middle, July 11, 2024 via laist.com

JK on vacation: Martin Short sub (comedy)

Guest host Martin Short on Trump and Biden debate and Jiminy Glick interviews Sean Hayes

(Jimmy Kimmel Live) June 26, 2024: Guest Host Martin Short talks about the first presidential debate tomorrow, an exclusive look at how Donald Trump has been preparing, Ron DeSantis signing a new law that prevents anyone in the state from intentionally releasing a balloon, and Jiminy Glick sits down with Sean Hayes for a one-on-one interview. #Kimmel

Guest host Martin Short delivers contractually obligated Trump jokes and introduces new energy drink

(Jimmy Kimmel Live) June 25, 2024: Guest Host Martin Short is back for his second night and talks about Hooters shutting down dozens of underperforming locations, whether or not Melania Trump will live in the White House if Trump is reelected for a second term, a woman from Ontario who hired a psychic to rid her home of ghosts, and a new energy drink he has been working on called "Short Blast." Subscribe to get the latest: bit.ly/JKLSubscribe. Follow Jimmy Kimmel on Instagram: bit.ly/KimmelInstagram. #Kimmel

• Martin Short, Jiminy Glick (Jimmy Kimmel Live!); Pfc. Sandoval, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Short Attention Span Theater (video)

Pat Macpherson, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Recession Matters

Recession-proof products
Some items are actually selling better in these hard economic times.

• Recession sending more students to community colleges
• Why one car brand is thriving
• Another "pay what you want" lunch
• Businesses scaling back on raises

Giants Among Us

Range of Human World

Buddhas enshrined in Bangkok temple (Stephanie Fisk)

The Buddha said that there are some worlds where beings are the same in body but different in mind (mental dispositions, attitudes, inclinations). Other worlds are the same in mind but physically differeent. Yet others are characterized by widely divergent physical forms and divergent minds.

In the Human World beings are different in body -- sometimes unrecognizably different -- but are inclined to suffer from greed, aversion (including fear), and delusion.

That our bodies are different seems obvious. But mentally we share Three Afflictions:

• Humans chase and grasp things (which we regard as pleasant).
• Humans avoid/fear other things (which we regard as unpleasant).
• Humans are deluded, confused, trapped in the morass of ignorance.

The Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga), therefore, classified people by Personality or Psychological Types depending on which affliction (or countervailing healthy state) was predominant. There are Greed types, Hate types, and Deluded types on the negative end of the spectrum. Conversely, there are Faith types, Wisdom types, and Speculative types. Nearly everyone is a combination-type.

• World's shortest man, leggiest woman meet
• Nancy Zuckerbrod (AP)

The world's smallest man, who's from China's autonomous region of Inner Mongolia, sits under the Queen of the Longest Legs, 9/16/08 (AP Photos/Sang Tan).

LONDON -- The shortest man (who can walk) met the woman with the longest legs. His name is Pingping, of China, and he was born with a type of dwarfism. At age 20 he stands precisely 2 feet 5.37 inches. The pair met to publicize the release of "Guinness World Records 2009," which "celebrates differences," due out 9/17/09. She is Svetlana Pankratova's, 36, a Russian who lives in Spain. She has legs that are more than 4 feet long at nearly 52 inches. Her upper body has nearly typical proportions, giving her a giraffe-like appearance.

• VIDEO

Dressed in a bright-blue mini-dress and low-heeled pumps, Pankratova said she liked her legs, though they can complicate things. "It's hard to find clothes, especially pants," she said. At just over 6-foot-4, she isn't the tallest woman on record. (Sandy Allen, of Shelbyville, Indiana, who died recently, held that title at 7 feet, 7 inches, according to Guinness).

The latest edition of the book lists pop star Britney Spears as the most-searched person on the Internet and the television show "Lost" as the most-downloaded show of all time.

The book has been around for half a century with about 3.5 million copies sold each year, according to editor-in-chief Craig Glenday.