How to Do Nothing audiobook cover - Resisting the Attention Economy

How to Do Nothing

Resisting the Attention Economy

Jenny Odell

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Categories:
Mindfulness & HappinessEconomicsSociety & Culture

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Key Takeaways from How to Do Nothing

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Mind Map

How to Do Nothing
The 24/7 Economy+
Redefining Value+
Mastering Attention+
Empathy and Connection+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 6
Why does doing 'nothing' seem like a waste of time in the modern gig economy, according to the text?
  • A. Because modern labor laws require longer working hours than those in the 19th century.
  • B. Because the boundary between work and leisure has disappeared, making all 24 hours potentially monetizable.
  • C. Because trade unions actively discourage leisure time in order to increase overall worker wages.
  • D. Because technological advancements have completely eliminated the biological need for rest.
Question 2 of 6
According to Joshua Meyrowitz's concept of 'context collapse', how does social media affect our behavior?
  • A. It encourages us to create a highly polarized and controversial online persona to gain attention.
  • B. It forces us to separate our professional and personal lives into distinctly different digital accounts.
  • C. It causes us to project a bland, smoothed-off version of ourselves that is acceptable to all audiences at once.
  • D. It allows us to express our true, changing human nature more freely than we can in physical spaces.
Question 3 of 6
What is the main lesson drawn from Zhuang Zhou's story of 'The Useless Tree' and the real-life redwood known as 'Old Survivor'?
  • A. Organisms that quickly adapt to serve human needs are the most likely to survive in a capitalist system.
  • B. Environmental conservation efforts should prioritize trees that have high economic value for timber.
  • C. Being deemed 'useless' or difficult by a system obsessed with productivity can actually be a successful means of survival.
  • D. Meaningful lives can only be achieved by completely isolating oneself from modern society and moving to nature.
Question 4 of 6
How do Scott Polach's artwork 'Applause Encouraged' and the Morcom Amphitheater of Roses relate to the concept of doing nothing?
  • A. They act as 'attention-holding architecture' that encourages sustained contemplation of the world.
  • B. They demonstrate how natural landscapes can be monetized to create highly profitable tourist attractions.
  • C. They prove that modern art is largely devoid of traditional aesthetic value and relies on gimmicks.
  • D. They are examples of how physical spaces can be engineered to completely block out digital distractions.
Question 5 of 6
What did psychologists Mack and Rock conclude from their experiment on inattentional blindness?
  • A. The human brain can only process a maximum of three visual stimuli at any given time.
  • B. Attention acts as a key that unlocks conscious perception of the vast amount of data the brain is already processing.
  • C. People are inherently unable to notice familiar stimuli, such as their own names, when they are distracted.
  • D. Experiencing total silence significantly decreases the brain's ability to process complex visual information.
Question 6 of 6
According to David Foster Wallace's Kenyon College speech, what is the benefit of imagining the complex motivations of others in frustrating everyday situations?
  • A. It ensures that people will instinctively treat you with the same respect and kindness in return.
  • B. It allows you to accurately identify who is truly at fault for the delays and inconveniences you face.
  • C. It helps you optimize your time by predicting the behavior of crowds in public spaces like supermarkets.
  • D. It transforms how you perceive others, replacing irritation with empathy and a sense of shared meaning.

How to Do Nothing — Full Chapter Overview

How to Do Nothing Summary & Overview

How to Do Nothing (2019) is a study of what’s gone wrong in contemporary society and what we can do to fix it – and ourselves. Ironically, the most effective tactic against our 24/7 culture of productivity might just be doing nothing. When we stop, step back, and refocus our attention, Jenny Odell argues, we can begin to see the contours of a better, more meaningful existence.

Who Should Listen to How to Do Nothing?

  • Social media addicts
  • Creatives and artists
  • Blue-sky thinkers

About the Author: Jenny Odell

Jenny Odell is an artist and writer based in Oakland, California. She teaches at Stanford University and has been an artist-in-residence at Facebook, the Internet Archive, the San Francisco Planning Department, and the San Francisco garbage dump. Her art has been exhibited in galleries around the world.

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