By Britten Schear, JTNews Correspondent
A computer scientist advocating less time in front of the computer is as hard to imagine as a politician holding himself to single-sentence answers during a debate. It is then reasonable to be skeptical of Professor David Levy’s warning that overloading on information is morally dangerous. Yet Levy is listening to his own advice.
A professor at the Information School of the University of Washington, doctor of computer science, and self-proclaimed technologist, Levy is working to turn down the noise of computers, cell phones, and televisions in his life, and he invites others to join him.
“We are polluting our world with so much media,” says Levy. “How do we achieve a better balance? What role does technology play?”
After receiving his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Stanford, Levy had already burnt out on technology. He then escaped to Roehampton Institute in London and earned a degree in calligraphy and bookbinding. This interval in his technologically centered career reminded Levy of the “arts and crafts movement,” a reaction against industrialization in 19th-century Britain. Levy was likewise reacting against the trend towards information overload.
Upon returning to the U.S., Levy took a job with Xerox in Palo Alto, Calif. as a researcher, but still felt the need to take breaks from technology. This led Levy back to Judaism.
“As my spiritual life matured, I started asking questions,” Levy notes, “such as ‘how can I connect my Jewish faith with the fact that I’m a technologist?’”
For him, the answer was the Sabbath.
“Here is this ancient tradition that says you don’t work for one day out of seven.” Think, Levy encourages, “What does it mean to stop doing things each day?”
The Sabbath is designated as an “unplugged” day for Levy. That means no television, no cell phones, and, though it is hard for him, no email. From sundown Friday to sundown Saturday is a time for reflection on life and “what life is for,” as he contemplates the best way to live his life and to help better the lives of those around him.
“Sabbath mornings now turn into Sabbath afternoons with family and friends sitting around in our living room, having meaningful discussions.”
It is these genuine connections with other people that Levy feels are lacking in our disjointed emails and obsessive cell phone usage. Even on campus, Levy points out, the tone of education has been altered by technology.
“The university is supposed to be a place of quiet reflection and thought,” Levy says, but the constant influx of information via high-speed media is lending to the piles of refuse a student must first sort through in order to find good information.
In one attempt to remedy this situation, Levy took part in Seattle’s “Take Back Your Time Day” last October. Dressed in a tree costume designed by one of his students, Levy advertised the day by handing out ‘leaflets’ on campus—“Get it?” Levy grins—about classes on meditation, yoga, storytelling, and other day-long workshops that can disconnect people from a hectic information environment.
The date, Oct. 24, was significant in that it was nine weeks before the end of the year. Nine weeks, Levy explains, is how much time Europeans take for vacation every year. That compares to roughly two weeks for American workers.
Levy’s next project is a public forum titled “Information, Silence, and Sanctuary,” to be held in Seattle on May 10. Set to take place in Town Hall, the free event will include a talk by Bill McKibben, author of Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age, and responses by John Seely Brown, Kirsten Foot, and Karla Pryne. The public forum will be followed by a two-day, invitation-only conference on the UW campus.
The conference and forum are sponsored by a subsection of the Information School at the UW called “Information and the Quality of Life,” or IQL.
It is Levy’s hope that through his efforts and a conscious public effort, we will begin to create more quiet, reflective time in our lives. Perhaps, Levy says, “Instead of talking about Janet Jackson’s breast, we will be having discussions about the significance of our lives.”
For information about the public forum in May, check the IQL website at www.ischool.washington.edu/iql.