SLOP1521#

Introduction to Life: Foundations of Being a Person

Week 6 — Laptop and CS Separation

Right now#

Everyone place their laptop and phone away.

No comment needed.

Today’s scope#

The mere presence of a phone, not its use, appears to measurably affect available attention.

Attention and presence effects only — not screen-time habits broadly.

What’s ahead#

• What “brain drain” means here
• Why this isn’t about willpower
• Designing an enforcement mechanism

Definitions#

• Screen-free time (noun) — a scheduled period during which no screen is consulted, checked, or kept within reach “just in case.”
• Hobby (noun) — a recurring activity undertaken for enjoyment, not assessment, and not involving a compiler.

Key point 1 — The mere-presence effect#

Ward, A. F., Duke, K., Gneezy, A., & Bos, M. W. (2017). Brain Drain: The Mere Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 2(2), 140–154.

Phones on the desk — even face-down, even switched off — meant worse memory and attention performance than phones in another room.

The effect scaled with how noticeable the phone was.

Check-in: According to this study, does turning your phone off remove the effect?

Key point 2 — Why this isn’t a willpower failure#

A measurable effect of where the phone sits. Not a personal failing.

The same no-blame reading this course applies to Week 8’s incident reports.

Check-in: If the effect is about where the phone sits, what does that suggest about fixing it with willpower alone?

Key point 3 — Designing an enforcement mechanism#

Where the laptop physically goes matters more than deciding not to use it — another room, not just another desk.

Name a device-free window with a start time and an end time.

Decide in advance what happens if the laptop comes back before the window ends, and allow exactly one exception: a genuine, already-known deadline, named ahead of time.

Check-in: What's the difference between 'I won't check my phone' and an actual enforcement mechanism?

In-lecture activity#

Back to the start of the lecture: honest show of hands.

Who noticed an urge to check their phone, or take out their laptop?

Conclusion#

Screens cost attention even unused.

The actual mechanism behind this course’s own no-screens-in-labs policy.

You now have a real mechanism to design, not just a rule to try to keep.

Coming up: this week’s lab (the analogue brainstorm and game).

This week’s reflection#

Due 12:00 Tuesday of week 7 — after the teaching break, not during it:

Name one hour this week the laptop stayed closed, and what filled it instead.

References#

Ward, A. F., Duke, K., Gneezy, A., & Bos, M. W. (2017). Brain Drain: The Mere Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 2(2), 140–154.