Why TV Doesn't Work

I

Would you normally imagine yourself walking into your living room and sitting down for two to four hours and not doing anything? Would that kind of rest help you be more productive in your day? Would it be good for your body to be idle for four hours each day? What might happen?
While many of us could probably benefit from an occasional self-induced time out for a couple hours and while there is solid scientific evidence that regardless of the religious component, a daily time of meditation is good for our health, the truth is our culture is an active one. We would be bored stiff sitting in a quiet room for four hours. Many of us would fall asleep for a good part of it. But most would simply get up, leave the room and go do something, seeing the time as a total waste. If that be the case, then we can firmly establish that when we daily take to the family room to sit around the TV for four hours, we are not doing it for the rest.

The component that is different is the media.  Brain wave studies have shown that our brains do not perceive everything going on around us. Instead, we take a snapshot of the sights, sounds, smells and react to the changes compared to that snapshot. It explains the whole idea of change blindness. Ernst Weber threw some math at this explaining that the change in our perception is equal to the change in the stimulus we receive divided by the instantaneous stimulus. An over simplified equation would be dp=ds/s   where where dp is the differential change in perception, dS is the differential increase in the stimulus, and S is the instantaneous stimulus. The actual equation uses some statistical comparison as

. But that is not important right now.


As an extreme example to explain this, if you are just sitting at your desk working, aurally, you are somewhat oblivious to the clacking of the keyboard, the click of the mouse, and the whir of the air conditioner and so on. The tiny changes in sound do not attract your attention given that your instantaneous stimulus is the sum of these inputs with little change or consequence. However, if the smoke alarm goes off, you are startled and begin running a litany of questions through your mind assessing the situation. The sound of the smoke alarm or phone ringing has a much higher consequence value than the air conditioner. So our brain assigns it a higher value and gives it more notice.
The same thing happens with our visual environment. As we stare at a beautiful painting, we can muse over it, how the artist was feeling, why he chose color combinations, what the statement might be and so on. But the picture doesn't change and shortly, we really aren't looking at the painting, just staring and thinking. However, when we are watching TV, something very different happens thanks to a filming technique started by the British in 1928 just after sound was added. Filmmakers started using multiple cameras to capture the action at multiple angles. Then, the shots were edited to use the angle that best depicted the action. Body movements were shown with the full cover shot. Dialogue by actor A was shown with the close-up from the right camera and actor B's response was shown by the close-up of camera C and so on. The result is that when we watch TV the S in the equation above keeps changing.
By constantly changing then entire field of our vision every few seconds, it would be like driving down the highway and every time you blinked, you found yourself in a completely different geography. You start out driving down I-77 in downtown Charlotte. In a blink, you are on a two lane road, still in Charlotte but on Sardis road. Another blink and you find yourself on Trade Street uptown. Blink, I-85 at Concord Mills. Blink, the street your house is on. With each blink, you brain would have to process the entire image in your field of vision, compare it to past images and extract known information to give you a sense of your environment. That would certainly make the commute much more exciting in a Secret-Life-of-Walter-Mitty kind of way.
Actually, a more accurate comparison to watching TV would be driving down the road. After a blink, you are seeing the road from the left lane looking over at you. Blink, you are seeing your passenger seat from the perspective of the right lane. Blink, an angle from above the car. Blink, back in your seat.
Very early on, the film industry figured out that the multi-camera shot kept people interested. I don’t know if they got hold of Weber and Fechner’s work or just counted the sleeping patrons at the theater. But the point is that the reason we never land on a camera angle and stay there is so we don’t become disinterested. It also explains other camera effects.
The Blair Witch Project took the camera off the dolly for the entire film and shook it during filming to mimic a home movie. As a result, viewers struggled the whole movie to reach a sense of calm, an effect the filmmaker was looking for in their horror film.
Fight scenes are typically shown with extremely short shots for each angle again increasing the viewers discomfort during the fight scene.

II

All this filmmaking science combines to have a unique effect on our brain. Our brain activity can be measured using thee wavelengths, alpha, beta and gamma. Without getting too far into the science of it, alpha waves are most active during REM sleep and when your eyes are closed in a wakeful state and during meditation. Alpha waves tend to suppress beta waves. Beta waves are associated with normal consciousness. Gamma waves are credited with bringing harmony to our perceptions, like a conductor in a symphony. When we watch a scene change on TV, it creates an orienting response in our brain reducing the gamma and the alpha waves during TV watching. They both struggle as the beta waves make sense of the sensory input change. The alpha waves return rather quickly whereas the gamma waves take longer to normalize. The result is that your brain is constantly switching from relaxed to alert and back again.
As a crass comparison, watching TV to rest at the end of a long day is like plugging your brain in to recharge and then flicking the power switch on and off every three seconds for four hours. Twenty minutes in the living room in silence with your eyes closed praying or meditating is far more valuable to your body than four hours of rest in front of the TV.
So right now, you are thinking that I really haven’t told you anything new, that TV is bad. So why do we watch so much TV. I took a moment to do some inventory.
1. It allows me to be doing something and nothing at the same time, thus avoiding doing the things I need to do. It is a tremendous tool in the procrastinator’s arsenal.
2. Occasionally it is entertaining (rarely)
3. I keep hoping I will find something that amazes me. On the contrary, I keep finding the formula the scriptwriter uses for their show and it completely ruins any chance of there being a surprise.
4. It is a surrogate for emotional input. By watching the hero struggle and prevail, to a small degree, we live vicariously through them and feel a little of that emotion. For example, watch Seven Pounds. I dare anyone to keep a dry eye. Like pornography, the attachment to the TV grows diminishing the real life relationships increasing the need for the surrogate. The surrogate concept is a paradox akin to an addiction.
5. It is the least expensive form of leisure available.

III

Four times 365= 1460 hours per year or 91.25 extra waking days. If I did all the things I needed to do, would I have any of the 91.25 waking days left to do something interesting? Absolutely!
I think it is ok to be entertained once in a while. Just not 91.25 days per year. How about 1 day or 2 hours per month?
GO out and find amazing things beyond the edge of the screen. 91.25 more days of activity will give you a healthier body to enjoy the 91.25 days.
Take that 91.25 days and build real relationships.
If that isn’t enough, one third of the broadcast television experience is commercials. Imagine the absolute pandemonium and chaos that would ensue if the government or your church told you that you had to contribute 30 days each year to community service making our country better. Yet we submissively watch 30 waking days of tv commercials every year. That’s like blocking out the entire month of September to not go to work or school or shop or church or anything but wake up and watch commercials! That’s 6.5 years of your life, just for the commercials.
Here’s something even more staggering. There are six people in my house. That’s 8,760 hours per year, 547 waking days per year, 182.5 of them watching commercials.

The truth is, my children will never blame me later in life because they couldn't watch a TV show. It will all be on demand for them later in life anyway. But they will lament a misspent youth. And several years from now, near the end of my time here, I will look back and weep over the lost opportunities spent in front of the TV.

New Year, New Ideas

Have you ever been sick and tired of being sick and tired?  I'm labeling this year my 3/4 life crisis.  Since 2008, life has been somewhat of a challenge.  I have still been blessed beyond measure.  But being unemployed for almost 3 years and working to complete a master's degree has left me a little out of sorts.  In order to cope and compensate for daily stresses I eat too much, I eat the wrong food.  I am too tired to exercise.  I watch TV as a numbing device and have gotten all around lazy beyond the things that must be done.  Frankly, I don't really like who I am.

One problem I have with myself is that I am miserable at doing things incrementally.  I'm not good at easing into things.  I remember swimming in Minnesota in the Summer.  Summer in Hackensack only lasts for about a week, so the lake water is frigid in June.  Some people would slowly wade into the water acclimating their bodies.  I found that whenever I did that, right about the time it go to my balls, I would say forget it and get back out.  But if I dove in, I was exhilarated and ready to go.  Its the same way for me with change.  I can't decide to ease into an exercise regimen by walking one day a week for a month, then two, then three and so on.  I have to have a plan with specific goals and get to it.

So this year, I have decided to do some major house cleaning.  well, that started as a metaphor but keeping the house clean is actually on the list so let me clarify.  I sat down and identified 52 things to improve this year.  So with as much shock and awe as I can muster, I would like to jump into one new habit every week.  Some of these things are kind of redundant and many are almost trite.  But as I took stock of the things that keep me from being at peace and creative and joyful, good or bad, this is the list I came up with.

1.  Break the sugar addiction- I know my pancreas is begging for a break and I am going to provide it.  I eat way too much sugar.  The part that aggravates me is that I know that the bacteria that crave sugar and starch are secreting chemicals that cause me to crave them.  So I am going to wipe those little suckers out by starving them into submission.  You will likely be reading some tear stained posts as I suffer the withdrawal symptoms.  
2. reach a goal weight of 155-  all the BMI charts and my doctor figures I should be anywhere from 140-155.  So I am going to shoot for the top of that range.  I haven't weighed 155 since high school.  But I haven't gotten any taller since high school either.  the first ten pounds will be effortless.  The last ten will be hell.
3. have a consistent quiet time- It's funny that I know how important this is but don't do it regularly.  
4. have endurance-  One marathon is on my bucket list.  Right now, I get winded walking upstairs to bed.  So I hope t meet somewhere in the middle.  I'm not sure I have the knees left for the marathon.  But I would like to have enough mitochondria built up that I can exert some effort without falling apart.
5. be prepared for Sunday school.  there are two levels of Sunday School readiness.  The first is to have the lesson prepared which I do.  the second is to have prepared an amazing lesson.  I would like to do the latter more often to honor God and the role he has trusted me with.
6. drink more water-  To all you hydraters out there, there really is something to this.  I don't go along with the two three gallon a day deal.  But I am on board with 12 glasses which is 11 to 12 more glasses than I am getting right now.  
7. tell my wife I love her everyday-  After 20 years of marriage, we are pretty comfortable.  But I think we are too comfortable.  I have taken it for granted that she is my princess and she deserves to know it.  I once heard Bill McCartney lament that his wife's countenance reflected how much or little he had treated her like the love of his life.  He said when he looked at her one day he realized he had dropped the ball.  I have dropped the ball.
8. call my wife for no reason- Another relationship habit.  Other than calling to go over logistics, we never call each other just because.  I miss that.
9. create a budget- we have been in survival mode for so long, fear has prevented me from looking under the hood.  We have go to turn this monetary thing around.
10. pray- sounds simple.  There can never be enough
11. give up TV- I have read numerous blogs on this and not one regretted giving up TV.  I will post another right after this with my justification for this endeavor.  
12. go on a mission trip- my greatest spiritual growth has always come from the mission field.  School has interrupted that.  It is time to get back.
13. buy a real tree- we switched to artificial to save money.  But there are only a few yeares left to make memories.
14. Listen-  I suck at this.  maybe I will take a class.  Seriously, this is the hardest change to make.  I zone out when people bore me.  
15. pay bills on time- duh
16. clean up my credit- remember the thing about being unemployed for 3 years.  I forgot to mention a couple trips to the ER and the collections that followed.  Gotta get that under control.
17. be strong- physically.  I have always been much stronger than I look.  At 5'6", I am unimposing.  But I used to be able to lift a refrigerator.  Now I just lift the milk jug.  I need to get some strength back.  there have been a few lifting, pulling, pushing occasions where I have been extremely dissapointed and afraid of injury.
18. prepare my own food- A lot of these next ones are about diet.  I believe America is screwed If you don't believe that our diet is being jacked with check this power point from the CDC out link.  Not only do I need to cut the food budget.  But I need to know what the heck I am eating.
19. no processed food- too many chemicals
20. no bread- unless I make it- too many empty calories.  Plus I subscribe tho the ill health effects of eating so much bio engineered wheat.  
21. save- we need to rebuild the emergency and retirement fund.
22. go deer hunting- rather, go deer hunting with my daughters.  Its a right of passage thing.
23. go pheasant hunting this is for me and me alone.  There is nothing like the startling sound of a pheasant taking off and then knocking it out of the sky.  Eating it that night for dinner is pretty awesome too.  Sorry PETA folks.  I'm not real thrilled with cramming a million chickens into one barn to wallow in their own feces their whole dusty lives.  But you'll never get me to shed a tear over hunting for food.  Let's agree to disagree.  
24. go camping- with the fam.  We haven't done this for a couple years.
25. call the parents and Susan 1 each week- I suh at calling people.  I am hoping without the distraction of studies and TV, I will be able to rejoin society.
26. hunter safety course- another right of passage with my kids.
27. concealed carry course- so I don't have to worry about carrying the gun back and forth to the range.  Don't worry.  I have no desire to walk around with a gun in my shoe.
28. plan a big birthday for my wife- I hate parties.  She loves parties See #7
29. celebrate our anniversary- see #7
30. keep my bathroom clean- Sorry to say it, we all suck at house cleaning.  There is just something about getting ready in a pristine bathroom that makes you feel like a millionaire.  What a great way to start your day.  
31. keep my bedroom clean- again with the self-esteem, millionaire thing.  
32. be flexible- physically.  50 years has made me quite rigid.  I would like to get out of a chair without grunting.  Besides, I love yoga.  
33. help my children with their homework- we're not talking every day.  But now that I am not immersed in my own homework, I need to coach them to better grades.
34. contact someone every week- OK for the rest of society, this may sound stupid.  But I am a homebody and an introvert.  So basically, I am lonesome proof.  But life is a social experiment and I need to own up to it by reaching out to others instead of always waiting for them to reach out to me.
35. keep the laundry done- another self esteem thing I owe myself.
36. Keep the kitchen clean- This is perhaps the hardest thing on my list.  Guys.  Guess what.  Women are pigs.  where we freely admit we are pigs.  Women are pigs when no one is looking and they complain about the mess as soon as they get around other people.  It is rather confusing.  But the point is I live with five women who would rather have a root canal than do dishes.  So since I am cooking my own food and since I can't stand cooking in a dirty kitchen, my expectation must be that almost all of the kitchen cleaning will be mine.
37. plan and begin saving for a vacation- I mean a real one with hotels and things to do.  Not visiting relatives.  We have never had one of those other than camping which is pretty much working double shifts for dad.
38. process mail the day it arrives-  this is another one of those things that only makes sense to me.  I have been afraid of what is in the mailbox for so long what with being broke and all that I haven't really had a set plan for mail.  the kids would get it and leave it wherever.  That publishers Clearing house check could be anywhere.  So I am going to make a point of getting the mail, chucking the junk and putting the ones with the little windows in a place where they can get paid.
39. send a thank you note- this may cause a few heart attacks since today's folk don't even know who dear Abby is.  But I would like to reinvoke this custom on some good Crane paper just as a social experiment.
40. prepare things for the missions auction early.  We have a silent auction each year at church to raise money for missions.  And we always run around the week before trying to come up with things to sell to raise money.  well this year i sat back and sized up my customer.  I made a list of like fifteen things that should actually generate some money.  Most of these I can make relatively inexpensively.  
41. run a marathon- just finish  Its on the bucket list.  
42. garden every day in the spring summer and fall.  I have always been so busy.  This year, I would like to put in about fifteen minutes of mental health vacation each day in the yard making it more beautiful
43. clean out the attic-  we've got shit in there from when we moved in 14 years ago.
44. clean out the closet- again, the millionaire thing.  I love going into an organized closet.
45. clean out the vanity- I can knock this out in fifteen minutes.  This hardly qualifies as a resolution.
46. clean out the office.  I need to transition it from a homework room to a man cave.  Arrrgh!
47. clean out the garage- this has to happen bi annually
48. clean out the loft- this definateley needs to happen in the spring.  We need to weed out some of the stuff in this house one stash at a time.
49. clean out the crawlspace- more junk
50. sell things on E bay frequently- we have a lot of things that can generate income that are just gathering dust.  So I would like to get good at selling and maybe parlay that knowledge into a second revenue source.
51. learn names better- this goes right along with the listening thing.  I suck at it.l
52. shoot more often- whether it be guns or bows, there is just something zen about target shooting.

  That's it.  No nobel peace prize.  But if I could accomplish this in one year, I might just take up French and the guitar next year.  Wish me luck