4.11.2008

Adminsitrating Distraction

A suburban NY law firm (which I had never heard of until the story) has banned Blackberries at major meetings because they disrupt the flow of business. It is good that people are recognizing that this technology has its place. It is bad that individual lawyers (including the millions who don't work at that firm) don't realize the same.

Indeed, no less than Univ. of Chicago is banning (really - turning off) wireless Internet in classrooms during lectures. I am not sure it will work given the range of modern antennas and the compulsion of law students. Look for the dark, unpopular corner of the room that has experienced something of a cult Renaissance and you'll find the modern poppy blossom: signal.

[One note: we did waste a lot of time on the internet in class, but we also used it as a real-time impromptu chat session - asking and answering questions. I would have been sad to lose that.]

[One more note: Full disclosure: I, too, am guilty of occasionally answering the siren's oscillation of my BB when I should have been focused on the events and people in the room. It's a good thing we are all so ADD, or else we could never juggle the diversity of information which constantly bombards us.]

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