You know that feeling when you walk into a shopping mall and are so overwhelmed by all the distractions you lose track of what you came there for? That’s the Gruen Transfer or Gruen Effect, named for Victor Gruen, the architect who designed...
digi-necking n.— «Rubberneckers attend to the spectacle so avidly that they themselves then get into accidents, slamming into the car in front of them when it brakes to get a better look or dig out a cellphone to take a picture. (This...
interruption science n.— «The average knowledge worker switches tasks every three minutes, and, once distracted, a worker takes nearly a half-hour to resume the original task, according to Gloria Mark, a leader in the new field of...
urge surfing n.— «Actual cravings are more a manifestation of dependence than habit, but behavioural strategies such as the four Ds can still help. These refer to delay, deep breathing, drink water and distraction. Urge surfing is another...
attention surplus disorder n.— «She was extremely intense—that just a minimum phone conversation would be a few hours on the phone. And she wouldn’t even take hints to get off the phone. If someone would say, “Oh, I have to go to the...
coffee-housing n.—Gloss: in a competition or game, trying to distract or annoy another player. «Anything you do to distract is called “coffee-housing,” and it’s against the rules. But there’s a lot of gray area. It’s illegal to talk...