The Stars in Our Pockets: Getting Lost and Sometimes Found in the Digital Age

Axelrod (The Point of Vanishing), director of Loyola’s creative writing program, provides powerful arguments against today’s all-encompassing digital world in this concise and insightful meditation. After being blinded in one eye while playing basketball, Axelrod, then a college junior, was forced to adjust to the loss of peripheral vision and depth perception, leading him to a more general, lifelong interest in the factors shaping his view of the world. This search acquired new urgency after the 2016 presidential election led him to conclude that people, dependent on their digital devices, have become “lost in a new way, disoriented in our very disorientation.” To illustrate the benefits of drawing on one’s own memory and observation skills, he discusses the cognitive benefits of navigating without recourse to GPS, citing findings that London cab drivers, famous for their in-depth geographic knowledge, had larger than usual hippocampi. Other benefits of unplugging he discusses include the ability to wander and thus make unexpected discoveries, immersing oneself in an activity and entering what psychologists term “the flow state,” and cultivating a sense of curiosity and patience. While Axelrod’s basic message is familiar, his impassioned plea for a less smartphone-centric existence should resonate with many. (Jan.)