Metacognition (or why I might have sold my iPad)
It’s been three months since I’ve sold my iPad. Part of the reason why I wrote that last post was to help me deal with both buyer’s and seller’s remorse. I had a few friends thank me for writing it and a few not say anything to me about it. Since then, I’ve seen colleagues, family, and friends with their shiny, 1.5 lb, Apple toy, and I’ve missed it. But, I was so convinced that getting rid of it was the right thing to do. Really? Wait, “it was the right thing to do?” Is that that you again, super-ego?
My previous post highlighted a number of technical shortcomings of the device.
Too heavy. Too bright. Too low DPI. Typing sucks. No Flash support.
Who cares? The iPad is selling like crazy, and users seem to love it. People I respect love it (or at least own it). There are some very innovative apps popping up, too. I’m not much of a gamer anymore, but I did find myself in an Apple Store last weekend playing with the Labyrinth 2 HD gyroscope maze game that I used to have in wooden form as a kid. While at my in-laws a month or so ago, I loaded up Flipboard and was immediately taken by the user experience. It was both fun and effective at browsing web articles like flipping through a magazine.
I came to the conclusion in my last post that the technical shortcomings were not the primary reason that I sold the iPad. In June, I thought the main reasons why I sold the iPad were because
- I could not recommend my friends and family to buy one.
- While at home, it sits on the table while Annie and I use our laptops.
Perhaps true, I don’t think those reasons are really getting to the root of what drove me to sell an expensive device (from a company whose devices I love) after owning it for just over a month.
Last Thursday and Friday, I attended the first east coast Internet Identity Workshop in my current hometown. This geeky unconference has been taking place in the bay area for five years and this was the first stop in DC. It was a completely worthwhile and fulfilling experience, both professionally and personally. Identity Commons has been fostering a community that really cares about technology, identity, and how we tackle the big Internet challenges in this space. IIWs give an opportunity for members in this community to meet, face-to-face, and talk about how to solve online identity problems.
Now, if you couldn’t have guessed by now, the attendees are mostly (completely) really, really techie. Dinner conversation consists of debating whether Diaspora has a chance against Facebook. Or how OkTrends is an amazing blog (and having the person sitting across from you quote the exact post to which you are referring).
This crowd embodies the term early adopter. So, it should come as no surprise that there were dozens of iPads in use throughout the two day workshop. Wait, why did I sell mine? These wicked-smart, tech kids seem to love it. Am I the one missing out?
Did I mention how much I enjoyed the IIW and how many meaningful verbal discussions I had? At the end of the day I realized that both my personal iPhone and work BlackBerry batteries were nearly full. I had gobs of unread emails. Did I missing being able to read and tap at them all day? Not a bit. Would I have gotten more from the workshop if I was reading the #iiw feed on Twitter? Nope. I had so many useful ideas and contacts at the end of the day that I was more concerned with writing them all down.
While I was drawn to the iPads that I was seeing everywhere I turned, I’m fairly certain that I had a substantially more productive day without having one by my side. I pulled my laptop out to transcribe notes from a couple sessions, made a few phone calls, but that was pretty much it as far as using technology. Not only did I not need the digital hip flask, I was better without it.
I’ve been thinking about writing this follow-up post for the past couple of weeks. When I pulled up Tumblr tonight to sit down and write it there was a quote post from superamit sitting at the top of my Dashboard about Metacognition and Self-Control.
Metacognition is basically thinking about thinking. It’s a skill that all highly disciplined people share. It allows you to outsmart your shortcomings.
Maybe that’s what happened here. I know how easily distracted I can be. Do I really need another interactive device that has a single, shiny button nudging me to context switch? No! I fight to finish books of any length. Not only is the iPad’s screen uncomfortable for reading, the Kindle may be better for reading since it is actually difficult to do anything on it but read. I couldn’t find the original article where Marco (I think) mentioned this, but I did like this one,
The iPad is a great casual computer, but the Kindle is the superior reading device.
I don’t own a Kindle, and I’m not in any hurry to get one, but I’d argue that metacognition would drive me to get one over an iPad - simply to keep me focused.
Maybe I’m giving my subconscious too much credit. Time will tell. I do know that since the sale, I’ve been throughly enjoying Shop Class as Soulcraft (in paper form), and I’m over halfway finished with it.
