I didn't know I was a zombie pedant until I started considering what from the zombie canon to keep in 'Zone One' and what to ignore.
Colson WhiteheadRead
I can't blame modern technology for my predilection for distraction, not after all the hours I've spent watching lost balloons disappear into the clouds. I did it before the Internet, and I'll do it after the apocalypse, assuming we still have helium and weak-gripped children.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on personal responsibility for distraction beyond the influence of technology.
Colson Whitehead's quote suggests that distractions are a part of human nature, not solely caused by modern technology. He acknowledges his tendency to be distracted, likening it to watching balloons float away, and emphasizes that this behavior existed before the internet and will continue regardless of technological advancements.
Themes
DistractionTechnologyHuman NatureResponsibilityBalloons
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on the impact of technology on attention spans, this quote could illustrate a personal perspective.
More from Colson Whitehead
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In keeping with my family's affection for doomed product lines and hexed formats, we purchased a Betamax. The year before, we'd bought a TRS-80 instead of an Apple II, and in due course we'd unbox Mattel's Intellivision, instead of Atari's legendary gizmo. This was good training for a writer, for the sooner you accept the fact that you are a deluded idiot who is always out of step with reality the better off you will be.
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Access to information, to music or any kind of culture, is getting faster and faster and more streamlined. At each juncture, people are thrown into tumult and have to adapt or die.
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I use New York to talk about home, but the ideas in 'Colossus' could be transferred to other cities. The story about Central Park is really about the first day of spring in any park. The Coney Island chapter is really about beaches and summer and heat waves.
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Early on my career, I figured out that I just have to write the book I have to write at that moment. Whatever else is going on in the culture is just not that important. If you could get the culture to write your book, that would be great. But the culture can't write your book.
Colson WhiteheadRead
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