Page 8 July 20, 2017 Smartphones from front page Some of the takeaways from the 2017 study confirm what educators, parents and business leaders have suspected about the pros and cons of smartphones on campuses, in society, and at on-site workplaces. Placing a smartphone face down on a desk doesn’t reverse the “brain drain” effect, the Texas researchers found. Neither does turning off the phone except when the device is placed in another room. Ward and his team concluded that separating the user from the device may be the only way to help people to focus better and be less distracted. One possible explanation why distance breaks the device’s hold over one’s attention is that 89 percent of people with smartphones experience “phantom vibrations,” feeling as though their phones are vibrating even when they’re not. A 2012 paper published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior described the false-positive as a “recent psychological phenomenon that has attracted the attention of the media and medical community.” The Indiana University researchers, like the UT-Austin group, looked at the smartphone habits of college students. The phantom vibrations typically happened once every two weeks, the collegians reported. Another possible reason: poor decisionmaking caused by the distraction of a smartphone. This was a finding from a 2014 study by a team at the University of Pittsburgh. Like much of the cell and smartphone research done before this year, the Pittsburgh team wondered how smartphone use affected behavior. Not all decision-making by the tech users was good. In fact, the findings were a mixed bag: some bad, some good. While the researchers identified a connection between mobile device use and poor decisionmaking for simple, routine decisions, they noted that decision-making improved when a person took advantage of the technology as an assistant to research and compare opinions and options before taking any action. In the UT-Austin study, students whose phones were in another room scored higher on tests of memory, focus and problemsolving than did their fellow students whose phones were placed in a desk nearby. The conclusion? That the presence of a smartphone nearby seemed to affect the brain’s ability to function, even when a person isn’t consciously thinking about the device. Researchers asked the students if they believed their test scores were influenced by whether their phones were turned on, off, or close by. The majority didn’t think it mattered. There’s a popular notion that people can concentrate on more than one task or thought at a time. However “multitasking,” as it’s known, has its doubters. There is growing research suggesting that multitasking can actually reduce productivity because the brain is forced to jump back and forth between tasks rather than simultaneously focusing on two things. Neurobiologists, psychologists and social scientists have begun to delve into the longer-term effects of living in a state of near-constant multitasking. Jim Taylor, who teaches at the University of San Francisco, says that multitasking is nearly impossible and an excuse for doing too much. The concept was created “to make overly scheduled and stressed-out people feel productive and efficient,” Taylor said. It’s only possible to multitask if one of the tasks is so “automatic” that it requires no focus or thought. For example, stirring a pot of gravy and carrying on a phone conversation would qualify. Walking and eating is another pairing of a thoughtful activity with a no-brainer, he explained. Listening to music and reading is another. “… Because reading comprehension and processing instrumental music engage different parts of the brain. However, your ability to retain information while reading and listening to music with lyrics declines significantly because both tasks activate the language center of the brain,” said Taylor, who writes for Psychology Today and has published a parenting book for the digital age about preparing children for a mass media world. “The goal for parents is not to disconnect their children, but rather to expose them to popular culture and technology when they are developmentally ready,” he writes in “Raising Generation Tech: Preparing Your Children for a Media-Fueled World.” The goal--and challenge for parents of young children--is to equip them with what Taylor calls the “perspectives, attitudes and tools they need to thrive in this digital age.” The messages coming from Taylor and the UT-Austin team have a common theme, though they’re drawn from observations of children and young adults. There’s a proper time and a place for smartphones and mobile devices. Deciding when to allow them or institute a power-down rule is for parents, teachers and bosses to decide. • The Mayweather/McGregor Circus is Already in Town By Adam Serrao If you’ve ever been to the circus, then you know how that sort of thing goes. Clowns and animals parade around in a circle, doing tricks and stunts, all for your entertainment and enjoyment. There’s a different kind of circus in town, but instead of the $15 entrance fee and cotton candy, this one will charge you nearly $100 to watch from home. A price that steep certainly does its part to lift an eyebrow or two, but when Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Connor McGregor take the ring on August 26 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, there will be little need to lift an eyebrow, a wallet, or a remote. The publicity stunt that is for some reason taking the nation by storm is now in full effect and the two fighters at the center of the stage are proving just how ridiculous their charade actually is. Conor McGregor isn’t even the best fighter in his sport. Sure he has beaten Jose Aldo and Eddie Alvarez--and in doing so, supposedly took the UFC by storm. It’s not McGregor’s fighting skills that allow him to be so popular, though. It’s his loud, outrageous behavior that gains the mixed martial artist popularity. Let’s say that McGregor is the best UFC fighter to ever live. He has lost three times in his career, so he obviously isn’t…but for the sake of discussion, let’s assume he’s unbeatable in the sport of UFC. Even still, getting in a ring with Floyd Mayweather to box would be like asking someone from your local YMCA basketball court to play against LeBron James and beat him. There’s simply no chance, unless LeBron lets you win. Even though McGregor isn’t the best UFC fighter ever, he’s the biggest draw in the sport right now because of his antics and ability to throw water bottles at his competitors all while getting them fired up. Likewise, he gets his fans fired up too. To expect him to have any chance at all against Mayweather, though, when even the likes of the all-time great Oscar De La Hoya (and plenty of other alltime fighters) stood no chance, is like asking a first-time snowboarder to attack a double black diamond without falling down once. “You’re going to ask McGregor to go inside a boxing ring, where he has no experience whatsoever?” De La Hoya said of the fight that even he calls a joke. “He’s never laced up a glove. I call it a circus. I don’t think it’s fair for the sport of boxing.” De La Hoya is obviously concerned that the hype surrounding the fight will damage the sport of boxing that he loves so dearly. Even though the event that will take place will supposedly be a boxing match, neither McGregor nor Mayweather are concerned with the sport itself. The only thing that would get Mayweather out of retirement--as well as the only thing that Floyd Mayweather cares about in this world--is money. Not only has it become apparent that Mayweather is in trouble with the IRS lately and owes upwards of $22 million in back taxes, but he’s the same guy whose nickname is “Money” and likes to buy Lamborghinis that he’ll never drive just so he can look cool. The more than $300 million that he’ll get from this fight will do well to not only pay back the IRS, but also buy him a few more Lamborghinis to keep on his front lawn. McGregor, on the other hand, just had his first child in May. Knowing how much a child can change a person’s perspective on life, the more than $100 million that he will make from the publicity stunt that will be called a “fight” will do well to send him into retirement and set up his family nicely for the rest of their collective lives. Neither fighter is interested in actually fighting on August 26. McGregor even told an entire auditorium in London during the fighters’ last press conference the real reason why he signed up to dance with Mayweather. “Half a fight, let’s get that right. I get to quadruple my net worth for a half a [expletive] fight. Sign me up. You mean no one’s gonna kick, no one’s gonna knee, no one’s gonna elbow, and it’s against [more expletives Mayweather].” Despite the charade that some people are actually falling for, neither fighter is interested in actually throwing punches. They’re both only interested in the future and stuffing their pockets with tons of money that a fan base who thinks that it will see an actual fight will inevitably give to them. Don’t forget the fight that Mayweather signed up for against Manny Pacquiao that was also ultimately a letdown. This event will be more of the same. One click of the button to buy the pay-per-view fight will lead to an inevitably let-down fan base, walking away empty-danded from an affair that will only serve to make Mayweather and McGregor richer than they already are. The more Mayweather and McGregor appear on national television yelling at each other as if they hate one another, the more it becomes apparent that the two met in a back room, shook hands and decided that they would barrage each other with insults in order to drum up enough interest for their salsa dance at the end of August. There is no hate shared by the two fighters. There are even reports that they shared the same private jet on the way over to London. They can be seen smiling at one another--almost laughing at one another’s fabricated insults directed at each other as they sit perched on stage. There is no will to absolutely defeat one another within the boundaries that the DISH DEALS!! $49./99 mo. for 24 months ADD HIGH-SPEED INTERNET $14./mo. Switch to DISH and Get a FREE Echo Dot Control your TV hands-free with DISH Hopper + Amazon Alexa “Alexa, go to HGTV.” LIMITED TIME! Mention oer code FreeEchoDot Requires internet-connected Hopper® or Wally® and Echo, Echo Dot or Amazon Tap device. CALL TODAY - PROMO CODE: FreeEchoDot 1-877-781-4694 95 where available 190 Channels Now only ... Requires credit qualication and commitment sport provides. There is simply yelling and fake shaming on a level that more resembles the WWE than anything else--especially an actual sport. And it’s all done with the intent of getting us to believe that the two will actually work for their money when the time presents itself to do so. The fight between Mayweather and McGregor will be the highest-grossing match in the history of professional fighting. No matter how fake and artificial the pre-fight press conferences tend to be, people will still tune in and click “purchase” simply to see what will happen. It’s like the unfortunate car crash on the highway that most people simply can’t look away from as they drive by. So for now, let the two con artists barrage you with slanders and harsh words toward one another that will seem stronger than any other punch thrown on fight night will be. Once the fight does happen, though, and everyone walks away unsatisfied after the quick and manufactured dance around the ring, don’t say that you didn’t see it coming. • – Asixlion@earthlink.net
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