[throwaway5486nv]

Distraction is for less focused and less ambitious people. We don't have to look at Einstein level genius. Take a look at the competitive programming the kids there solve puzzles at such speed who are grown in the era of all the distractions. If one can not be genius in this era, there is no way they could have been genius in the past. The other way is not true due to access to knowledge in the past is very much restricted to select few.

[lumost]

Alternately, the markers of what makes one a "genius" have changed.

In the past, being a genius meant having enough leisure time to spend learning what was a comparably small body of knowledge. Then spending more of that time expanding that knowledge, ultimately transmitting it through a written or spoken medium to a broad body of people.

Today we often pay attention to raw skill in a field as a proxy for "genius". We applaud a competitive coder, but this may be the modern equivalent to applauding a fast brick layer.

Are we missing the longer/deeper forms of work?

[gridspy]

> "We applaud a competitive coder, but this may be the modern equivalent to applauding a fast brick layer."

Competitive coding is still quite creative, which you contrast with brick-laying where muscle memory instead plays a big part. Perhaps compare instead to middle ages masonry experts who used custom cut rocks to build various curved outer walls and arches.

I agree that competitive coding is less creative generally than many other types of programming - often it is learned pattern matching combined with great quality execution.

[twayt]

If not being distracted is what is required to be a "genius" today, those that are inherently less likely to be distracted will emerge.

[2muchcoffeeman]

But without these distractions you might be forced to go and do something else. Even if you weren’t a genius, your hard work might pay off.

It’s so easy to stream what you want to watch. Before, X-Files was only on once a week and video games were expensive and you had to go to the store.

[Godel_unicode]

The people being distracted by streaming video are the same people who would have been distracted by TV, before that radio, before that comics, before that chasing a hoop with a stick...

[2muchcoffeeman]

I feel you under estimate the sheer accessibility of content. Before content would run out. Just because you watch TV doesn’t mean you want to watch soaps or reality TV. There were certain shows you wanted to watch then it was over.

I had my X-Files night or Buffy night. Then I’d literally go and find other things to do: read, draw, program. Now I can easily queue up all the shows I want and just watch it all.