Letters

Our

coverage on how to be more productive sparked comment from readers who blamed an array of electronic gadgets for cluttering up our mental space. Others praised some mind-sharpening methods

I agree with your report "How to Tune Up Your Brain" [Jan. 23]. One of your articles made the case that communication technology is a key factor in overstimulation and distraction. The faster people can do things, such as reading an e-mail or sending a text message, the shorter their attention span becomes. It seems as if everyone has attention-deficit disorder. Our society is so invested in getting things done fast that we have lost the skill of patiently sitting still and focusing. It's as if people need to be diverted. If there were fewer distractions from pointless e-mails, phone calls and other things, a lot more could be achieved.
Ally Whitney
Eugene, Oregon, U.S.

TIME's article on the perils of multitasking with communication devices was just what the doctor ordered for our obsessed society. I see more people like the Hollywood producer you described as a "fidgety, demanding, chattering, whirling dervish of a task juggler." They are not only addicted to their electronic gadgets, but they also take tremendous pride in overusing them. Your story says it is more productive to focus on one task at a time, but my cure for e-mail and cell-phone addiction was to quit the rat race altogether. I haven't touched a cell phone, BlackBerry or PDA in months—and after 15 years in the corporate world, I don't miss any of it. As a stay-at-home dad, I'm reaping rewards far superior to anything I could ever receive in an e-mail, memo or cell-phone call.
Robert Fuller
Bloomfield Township, Michigan, U.S.

Our culture conditions us to do as much as we can, as fast as we can. But is putting more effort into saving time and multitasking really going to help us? The fact is, the more we try to manage, the less manageable we become. Let's turn off our cell phones and e-mail and slow down.
Sverre Tysl
Berkeley, California, U.S.

Your "Mind & Body" stories were timely and made important points about healthy modern living. The article by Dr. Andrew Weil, "You (and Your Brain) Are What You Eat," explaining the significance of vegetables and recommending the use of the yellow spice turmeric, was insightful. What is generally not understood is how to make vegetables appealing and tasty and how to use spices naturally in cooking. Useful ideas can be found in the cooking of south India. Even vegetable haters become vegetable lovers with the proper use of spices and legumes.
Alamelu Vairavan
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.

I applaud your objective reporting on meditation in the workplace. Having practiced transcendental meditation for 35 years, I have longed for some positive news coverage without snide guru bashing. Meditation is a gift from ancient sages. It makes us whole.
Alfred K. LaMotte
Steilacoom, Washington, U.S.

Your graphic on making the best use of your time emphasized the importance of a good night's rest. Everyone seems to believe that getting eight hours of sleep every night is the gold standard for optimal brain performance. But that approach fails to take into account the huge differences between individuals. I am both a night owl (by choice) and a morning person (by necessity) and average five to six hours of sleep a night. About a year ago, I tried to sleep for eight hours, and as a result I felt listless all day. One size does not fit all.
Gary Sechler
Carlsbad, California, U.S.

Republican Reform
"Can This Elephant Be Cleaned Up?" reported on the influence-peddling scandal in Washington involving lobbyist Jack Abramoff and members of Congress [Jan. 23]. It's a sad point in U.S. history when a lobbyist's extensive ties become equivalent to political clout. Even with the exposure of the Abramoff scandal, Republicans "debate how they can project change while keeping things much the same." What an insult! Instead of endeavoring to serve the people, those "public servants" want to use lip service and cosmetic changes to pull the wool back over our eyes. There can be no excuses for their flagrant disrespect and misuse of public office.
Jeremiah Duke
Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Above the Law?
Andrew Sullivan, in his essay "America Doesn't Need a New King George" [Jan. 23], was right to criticize President George W. Bush's habit of attaching signing statements that give his interpretation of the legislation he signs. Taking the oath of office, Bush swore to "protect and defend" the Constitution. But his Administration is undermining that document's checks and balances. If lying under oath about an affair was reason enough to bring impeachment charges against President Bill Clinton, then there is cause 10 times over for impeaching Bush. Shame on him, and shame on us if we let him get away with it.
Karen Montgomery
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, U.S.

In times of war, the President has a great degree of latitude granted by the Founding Fathers. Sullivan's assertion that President Bush thinks he is above the law or is another King George is beyond ludicrous. Any President would have reacted the way Bush did after 9/11. Thank God the President has discharged his responsibilities in carrying out the global war on terrorists. We are all safer for it.
Robert Guertin
Jamestown, North Carolina, U.S.

Andrew Sullivan's blog, the Daily Dish, can be found at time.com.

How to Succeed
Ambition in human beings cannot be defined easily [Jan. 9]. It arises out of the complex mix of environment, available opportunities and an individual's will to succeed under existing circumstances. It is the unpredictable factor of opportunity that differentiates the outcome of our lives. The important lesson I got from Time's report on the secrets of ambition is that superachievers in life do not waste the opportunities they get but use them to excel. They take advantage of good luck and combine that with love for their work and the desire to get ahead of everyone else.
Vijay V. Muthye
Raipur, India

A Not-So-Super U.S.?
Michael Elliott's column, "Be Careful What You Wish For" [Jan 23], referred to a new book by political scientist Michael Mandelbaum in which the author argues that the U.S. has provided the world a degree of security by damping down the prospect of global war and opposing the spread of nuclear weapons. But Elliott's piece was simplistic; he omitted historical information about Iran. You cannot offer a one-sided view of the very serious issue of Iran's nuclear-enrichment program while ignoring the reasons that created the current political situation there. Iran is one of numerous countries in which the U.S. has practiced intervention (often overthrowing democratically elected governments) in order to set up a political administration more sympathetic to the U.S. During the rule of the Shah of Iran, it was the U.S. that provided much of the weaponry and technical support that Iran used in later years for purposes less friendly toward the U.S. and the world in general.
Chris Angelis
Tampere, Finland

Soulful Last Words
TIME's verbatim column quoted the note left by Martin Toler Jr., one of the coal miners who died after being trapped by an explosion in a West Virginia mine [Jan. 16]. Toler wrote: "It wasn't bad/ just went to sleep." I was so moved when I read those words that I immediately went online to find the rest of the message Toler left to comfort his family and friends. He had also scrawled, "Tell all I love them, I'll see them on the other side." At the moment when death was taking everything from him, he managed at the last to keep two essential things: his affection for his loved ones and his faith that the life of the soul does not end with the death of the body. What a beautiful mind!
Ode LaForge
Fontenilles, France

A Sweater for All Seasons
Your notebook item, "No Changing His Stripes," about Bolivia's new President, Evo Morales and his omnipresent striped pullover [Jan. 23], made me wish there were more leaders like Morales who would pay less attention to how they look for photo ops and more to their job.
Anurag Chatrath
New Delhi

Bringing Down the House
When soprano Birgit Nilsson, who died in January [MILESTONES, Jan. 23], made her long-awaited debut at New York City's Metropolitan Opera, TIME was there to cover her performance. Here is an excerpt from our report [Dec. 28, 1959]:

"[A] Swedish Wagnerian soprano strode on the Met's stage, and [was compared] to the 'incomparable' [Kirsten] Flagstad herself. The debutante: 41-year-old Birgit Nilsson, whose appearance in a new production of Tristan und Isolde touched off the kind of debut furor the Met's Wagnerians have not witnessed in a quarter-century ... A solid (5 ft. 8 in., 150 lbs.) and imposing woman, dramatic soprano Nilsson ... displayed a big, flashing, vibrant voice that galvanized her audience and conveyed an immediate sense of the turbulent passions that animate the role [of Isolde] ... Apparently a more severe critic of herself than some of Manhattan's reviewers, Soprano Nilsson said later: 'After the first act I was just physically tired, and my throat was dry. The first act is as hard as all of Aida' ... Next season she will return for another of her favorites, Puccini's Turandot. 'I could sing Turandot right now,' said she coolly as she walked offstage after last week's marathon performance. What did she think of her Met ovation? 'I didn't believe my ears,' said Birgit Nilsson. 'I thought the house fell down.'"