Last week I met a futurist for coffee. She didn’t tell me I’d be writing this article, but her observations about distraction and the social engineering challenges that compromise cybersecurity definitely influenced my thinking.

What I noticed at first was how fast she talked. I’m a fast talker too, but she was REALLY fast. I tried to keep up but I kept falling behind, like Lucy at the chocolate factory.

After about 20 minutes I took a step back from the easel to observe the whole scene. Suddenly everything made sense. 

We were drinking caffeinated beverages. The coffee house loudspeakers were blaring “Chop Suey!” by System of a Down. And the wind outside was howling at about 30 miles per hour.

I burst out laughing.

She stopped mid-sentence: “What? Am I talking too much? Too fast?” She was tapping her fingers on the table.

I instantly apologized. “No, you’re perfect. I’m sorry I laughed. What you were saying about phishing texts was important and people need to hear it. I just realized that both of us are trying to think under the influence.”

Her brow furrowed. “Huh?”

“We’ve got the motor activation and psychostimulant effects of caffeine. We’ve got the distraction and autonomic arousal of loud, fast music. And we’ve got the psychological and physiological effects of wind. 

“The wind by itself would be enough to derail most people. Even if you don’t have allergies, the sound frequency and the positive ions can make us anxious and literally charge us with electrical energy that causes us to move and talk differently, and often not in a good way. In Joan Didion’s words, ‘It is the season of suicide and divorce and prickly dread, wherever the wind blows.’” 

We took a moment. She smiled and let out a deep breath. I realized it was the first breath I’d seen her take. She said, “This is a great example of what people don’t normally think about that guides their behavior and makes them vulnerable to phishing scams in the first place,” she said. “When we’re on edge and we read what looks like a threat, we immediately respond. We click a link to take care of it, and in that moment we open the door for a bad actor to take advantage of us.”

Lesson learned.

The most important climate change is the one that’s causing extreme weather events like the wind outside the coffee house. But the climate of unrest that many of us are personally experiencing is also important, and it’s often a matter of the space we occupy. 

Our attitudes and the ways in which we conduct ourselves influence everything from our perception of reality to our relationships to our ability to process and retain information.

The good news is that we can immediately improve our climate of learning by taking stock of our surroundings.

If you’re unable to concentrate, or you feel a mounting sense of anxiety or frustration, consider the environmental factors at work. Are you straining to hear the announcement over the intercom? Is a hard seat cutting off the blood flow to your legs? Is the room painted a shit ugly color? Even if you can’t change the conditions in the moment, acknowledging their impact can transform your mental state and your learning experience.

Apart from the movie “Airplane” has anyone ever heard an airport announcement in real life that made them smile or gave them a good idea? Drop me a line – I’m curious!

Curiosity is worth practicing. That’s how we get better at it. When it’s done particularly well, curiosity can be elevated to an art form. Curiosity makes life worth living. I am literally Curious AF. And now you can be too! Click HERE to unlock your free membership subscription. 

Here is a taste of what I’m reading, watching, and thinking about.

What I’m Reading – 

Today I’m rereading Open Up, Education! by Adam Haigler and Ben Owens. I first met Adam and Ben about eight years ago when they were inventing new ways to help their students in North Carolina. I remember our email introduction because at the time I was on a train from New York to Philadelphia, racing for the last seat on the last flight to California ahead of a blizzard. I recently reconnected with Adam, who is doing some amazing design and project-based learning consulting from his new home in Victoria, British Columbia. I’m going up for a visit in May and I can’t wait to spend time with a person who inspires learning leaders to innovate and writes stuff like this: “The goal has never been to create a one-size-fits-all solution that integrates nicely into every school and every district. Nor was it to somehow monetize this concept by creating a centralized “pay to play” network. The goal is to build a true, organic open-source community of like-minded stakeholders who know that it’s time for a different approach.” 

What I’m Watching – 

I wasn’t super crazy about seeing the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown.” Dylan is a genius and I’ve loved his songs my whole life. When I first heard “Highway 61” (God said to Abraham, kill me a son/ Abe said man, you must be puttin’ me on) I played it over and over and I’ve known it by heart ever since. Same with “Subterranean Homesick Blues” and dozens more. The style, lyrics, and integrity of his work transcend the conversation. So basically I didn’t want to wreck my memories. It was bad enough when he mumbled his way through a set at the California Mid-State Fair in 2003.

The other night my wife put the movie on as I was falling asleep. I stayed awake. From The Hollywood Reporter: “Any Dylan fan or indeed anyone with a fondness for the music coming out of New York City in the first half of that tumultuous decade will find ample pleasures in Mangold’s expertly crafted film. The period re-creation is impeccable, and the many music performance sequences could not be more transporting, benefiting enormously from lead actors doing their own singing with estimable polish.” 

What I’m Listening To – 

David Bowie’s “Song for Bob Dylan” because the movie reminded me of the lyrics (Now hear this Robert Zimmerman/ I wrote a song for you/ About a strange young man called Dylan/ With a voice like sand and glue). I saw Bowie play Dodger Stadium and the song brought me right back to how amazing he was, so I played the rest of his stuff, which made me miss my Sony Walkman. And then, since I was writing, I also played the version of Dylan’s “Girl From the North Country” with Johnny Cash, along with some of Dylan’s other hits that brought me to one of my favorites: “Hurricane,” a story of American racial injustice that sounds like it feels and somehow manages to transform a nonfiction account of a legal procedural into something that simultaneously makes you want to tap your toes and punch a cop. 

And then I mentioned the coffee house music at the beginning of the newsletter to friend and collaborator Chris Carfi, who reminded me of Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine, who recorded a version of Chop Suey I’d never heard, that did not help me learn anything about cybersecurity or learning but very nearly made me spit coffee out of my nose.

Quote I’m pondering —

A writer can make a fortune in America, but he can’t make a living.

– James Michener

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David Preston

Educator & Author

​https://davidpreston.net​

Latest book: ACADEMY OF ONE

Header image: Photo by Fallon Michael on Unsplash