--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Printed works do not take up mental space…" description: "\"“Printed works do not take up mental space simply by virtue of being there; attention must be paid or their content, whether simple or complex, can nev..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a85/susan-jacoby-10682_focus_printed-works-do-not-take-up-mental-spac_2117166.jpg" --- # Printed works do not take up mental space simply by virtue… ![“Printed works do not take up mental space simply by virtue of being there; attention must be paid or their content, whether simple or complex, can never be truly assimilated. The willed attention demanded by print is the antithesis of the reflexive distraction encouraged by infotainment media…” quote by Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a85/susan-jacoby-10682_focus_printed-works-do-not-take-up-mental-spac_2117166.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a85/susan-jacoby-10682_focus_printed-works-do-not-take-up-mental-spac_2117166.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a85/susan-jacoby-10682_focus_printed-works-do-not-take-up-mental-spac_2117166.jpg) > ““Printed works do not take up mental space simply by virtue of being there; attention must be paid or their content, whether simple or complex, can never be truly assimilated. The willed attention demanded by print is the antithesis of the reflexive distraction encouraged by infotainment media, whether one is talking about the tunes on an iPod, a picture flashing briefly on a home page, a text message, a video game, or the latest offering of "reality" TV. That all of these sources of information and entertainment are capable of simultaneously engendering distraction and absorption accounts for much of their snakelike charm.”” [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Print requires focused attention, unlike digital media that encourages constant distraction, making deep comprehension harder. **In simple terms:** Reading needs focus; media pulls you away. Key Takeaway Practice deliberate, distraction‑free reading. Themes attention media focus distraction comprehension Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - studying academic texts - reading books - learning new skills - writing essays Key Concepts cognitive load information overload mindful consumption Questions to Reflect On - What steps can you take to protect reading time? - How does multitasking affect learning? A Different Perspective Digital habits can still be managed with discipline. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Distraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distraction/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Idiocy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idiocy/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Reading-motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-motivation/) [Reality tv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-tv/) [Text message](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/text-message/) [Video game](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/video-game/) ## Related quotes > [“But sometimes, even a smart woman can have her guilty pleasure moment. Watching infotainment, it is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-ardianti/but-sometimes-even-a-smart-woman-can-have-her-guilty-pleasure-moment/) [Nina Ardianti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-ardianti/) > [I really do think we're going through a period of concentration of ownership of media, and we're starting to see the effects at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/i-really-do-think-we-re-going-through-a-period-of-concentration-of/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [“Unfortunately, mainstream news has become infotainment, sharing more in common with the entertainment industry than with traditional journalism. Gossip, characterizations and injections of drama…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-morcan/unfortunately-mainstream-news-has-become-infotainment-sharing-more-in/) [Lance Morcan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-morcan/) > [“We got the bubble-headed-bleach-blonde who Comes on at five She can tell you 'bout the plane crash with a gleam In her eye It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-henley/we-got-the-bubble-headed-bleach-blonde-who-comes-on-at-five-she-can/) [Don Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-henley/) > [I don't say he's a great man. Willie Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/i-don-t-say-he-s-a-great-man-willie-loman-never-made-a-lot-of-money/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [“To successfully create illusion, the first thing you need is trust, but to perfect an illusion, the false reality most appear as authentic as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-thorne/to-successfully-create-illusion-the-first-thing-you-need-is-trust-but/) [Emily Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-thorne/) > [Arthur Miller said one of my favorite lines ever, that he had the mother say to her two sons about a very unstable father…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-patinkin/arthur-miller-said-one-of-my-favorite-lines-ever-that-he-had-the/) [Mandy Patinkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-patinkin/) > [Politics can be likened to driving at night over unfamiliar hills and mountains. Close attention must be paid to what the beam can reach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-trimble/politics-can-be-likened-to-driving-at-night-over-unfamiliar-hills-and/) [David Trimble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-trimble/) > [He's not the finest character that ever lived. But he's a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/he-s-not-the-finest-character-that-ever-lived-but-he-s-a-human-being/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [Both learned and unlearned young men seldom go to church, and in general do not attend to their spiritual education, looking upon it as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-kronstadt/both-learned-and-unlearned-young-men-seldom-go-to-church-and-in/) [John of Kronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-kronstadt/) ## More by Susan Jacoby > [If enough money is involved and enough people believe that two plus two equals five the media will report the story with a straight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/if-enough-money-is-involved-and-enough-people-believe-that-two-plus/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [There could be no more powerful argument against mixing religion and government than the success of independent African American churches in placing racial segregation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/there-could-be-no-more-powerful-argument-against-mixing-religion-and/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [If you chose a particular religion, you were siding with the government religion of whatever region you were in. That's never been true in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/if-you-chose-a-particular-religion-you-were-siding-with-the/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [“The specific use of folks as an exclusionary and inclusionary signal, designed to make the speaker sound like one of the boys or girls,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/the-specific-use-of-folks-as-an-exclusionary-and-inclusionary-signal/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [People think that, that conversion to Judaism is just a modern phenomenon. But there was an era in the late Roman Empire Judaism was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/people-think-that-that-conversion-to-judaism-is-just-a-modern/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [Atheism is not a religion. One of the things, in fact, that atheism lacks are the kinds of rituals that religion does provide and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/atheism-is-not-a-religion-one-of-the-things-in-fact-that-atheism/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [Once the Roman Catholic Church in the West became the church most closely connected with the state, the Roman Catholic Church did not recognize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/once-the-roman-catholic-church-in-the-west-became-the-church-most/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [I no more believe in the God of the Jews than I believe in any God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/i-no-more-believe-in-the-god-of-the-jews-than-i-believe-in-any-god/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [The more intelligent and competent a woman is in her adult life, the less likely she is to have received an adequate amount of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/the-more-intelligent-and-competent-a-woman-is-in-her-adult-life-the/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [“For if freethinkers did not have a political platform, they nevertheless agreed on a wide range of social, cultural, and artistic concerns, which generated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/for-if-freethinkers-did-not-have-a-political-platform-they/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [We do want our fellow citizens to respect our deeply held conviction that the absence of an afterlife lends a greater, not a lesser,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/we-do-want-our-fellow-citizens-to-respect-our-deeply-held-conviction/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [For one thing, the Catholic Church in particular has this one thing - confession - in which you could go, confess to a priest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/for-one-thing-the-catholic-church-in-particular-has-this-one-thing/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [I think people who love each other and live together and have children together need to agree on the things that are most important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/i-think-people-who-love-each-other-and-live-together-and-have/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [I have always regarded the development of the individual as the only legitimate goal of education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/i-have-always-regarded-the-development-of-the-individual-as-the-only/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [A person can be religious and still respect secular values and not talk about Jesus all the time as though every American believed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/a-person-can-be-religious-and-still-respect-secular-values-and-not/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) [Explore all 64 Susan Jacoby quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) ## More Distraction quotes > [I don't think there's a direct correlation between my sexuality and my skiing ability. But I think because I was so concerned about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-kenworthy/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-direct-correlation-between-my-sexuality-and/) [Gus Kenworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-kenworthy/) > [I don't want this to be a distraction. This has been distracting enough. I'm not going to rehash this going forward. I'm sure other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-werth/i-don-t-want-this-to-be-a-distraction-this-has-been-distracting/) [Jayson Werth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayson-werth/) > [Almost all accidents take place because of human distraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-thrun/almost-all-accidents-take-place-because-of-human-distraction/) [Sebastian Thrun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-thrun/) > [I spend a lot of time loathing the sentences that I put down on the page. Once I'm past that phase, it doesn't really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/i-spend-a-lot-of-time-loathing-the-sentences-that-i-put-down-on-the/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [To really be of benefit to others as the Buddha always taught, we ourselves must first get out of the swamp. One of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/to-really-be-of-benefit-to-others-as-the-buddha-always-taught-we/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [As a social and as a personal force, religion has become a dependent variable. It does not originate; it reacts. It does not denounce;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/as-a-social-and-as-a-personal-force-religion-has-become-a-dependent/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [Not knowing how to feed the spirit, we try to muffle its demands in distraction...What matters is that one be for a time inwardly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/not-knowing-how-to-feed-the-spirit-we-try-to-muffle-its-demands-in/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [You have a number of choices. You could continue to always fight against people who are really distractions. They're people in the cheap seats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-thomas/you-have-a-number-of-choices-you-could-continue-to-always-fight/) [Clarence Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-thomas/) > [I feel very privileged to get to read and write and not to have to do things that I don't like, and I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/i-feel-very-privileged-to-get-to-read-and-write-and-not-to-have-to-do/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [Meditation is sticking to one thought. That single thought keeps away other thoughts; distraction of mind is a sign of its weakness; by constant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/meditation-is-sticking-to-one-thought-that-single-thought-keeps-away/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [“One of the defining symptoms of ADHD is distraction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-orlov/one-of-the-defining-symptoms-of-adhd-is-distraction/) [Melissa Orlov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-orlov/) > [Some days, who can stare at swathes of sky, leafage and bad-complected whale-gray streets, tailpipes and smokestacks orating sepia exhaust, or the smaller enthusiasms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-di-piero/some-days-who-can-stare-at-swathes-of-sky-leafage-and-bad-complected/) [W. S. Di Piero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-di-piero/) > [“the problem with reading off a screen isn’t resolution, eyestrain, or compatibility with reading in the bathtub: it’s that computers are seductive, they tempt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/the-problem-with-reading-off-a-screen-isn-t-resolution-eyestrain-or/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [“Distraction is your friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susane-colasanti/distraction-is-your-friend/) [Susane Colasanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susane-colasanti/) > [“Opportunity knocks but some people are too busy watching TV.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gerard-trotman/opportunity-knocks-but-some-people-are-too-busy-watching-tv/) [Wayne Gerard Trotman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gerard-trotman/) [Browse all 1,030 Distraction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distraction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Printed works do not take up mental space simply by virtue of being there; attention must be paid or their content, whether simple or complex, can never be truly assimilated. 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