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Public Program with David Levy '71 "No Time to Think"

In the last 20 to 25 years, the world has experienced a full-fledged technological transformation. With over 6 billion active mobile phone subscriptions and the widespread use of social media and online educational resources, there are few limits on the amount of time one can spend interacting with the world via today’s high-tech tools.


This near-constant absorption and dissemination of information has sparked progress and collaboration on many fronts. However, this perpetual stimulation has one other important consequence: humans are left with very little time to actually think.

David Levy ‘71, a Professor at the University of Washington’s Information School, explores this phenomenon in a Rockefeller Center lecture, “No Time to Think.” Levy will explore the significance of overwhelming external stimuli and information and present tactics that are currently being explored to moderate this new technological reality. An expert in the ethics of information technology and its affect on quality of life, Levy proposes solutions to what is known as ‘overload’ through contemplative practices.

David Levy is Professor at the Information School, University of Washington in Seattle.  He earned his Ph.D. in computer science at Stanford University. For more than 15 years, he was a researcher at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, exploring the transition from paper and print to digital media. At the University of Washington since 2000, he focuses on using mindfulness training to address problems of information overload and acceleration.

This event is co-sponsored with the William Jewett Tucker Foundation, Institute for Security, Technology, and Society.

Please join us for Professor David Levy ‘71’s talk, “No Time to Think” in 003 Rockefeller at 4:30 pm, Thursday, November 7, 2013.