“America was entering the age not just of the automobile but of the retarded attention span.”

—  Bill Bryson, A Walk in the Woods

Source: A Walk in the Woods (1997), Chapter 18 (p. 234)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "America was entering the age not just of the automobile but of the retarded attention span." by Bill Bryson?
Bill Bryson photo
Bill Bryson112
American author 1951

Related quotes

Christopher Moore photo

“He has the attention span of a hummingbird.”

Christopher Moore (1957) American writer of comic fantasy

Source: The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror

Frances Bean Cobain photo

“I have the attention span of a rabbit on cocaine.”

Frances Bean Cobain (1992) American artist

" High School Musical Starring Frances Bean Cobain http://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/red-carpet-dresses/a235/frances-bean-cobain-0308/" (2008)

Paul Newman photo

“He has the attention span of a bolt of lightning.”

Paul Newman (1925–2008) American actor and film director

Robert Redford, quoted in Maureen Dowd, "Testing Himself," The New York Times (1986-09-28), section 6, page 16, column 1

Lauren Bacall photo

“Well, his attention span was not long, shall we say.”

Lauren Bacall (1924–2014) American actress, model

Speaking of Frank Sinatra
Larry King interview (2005)

Horace photo

“Life's short span forbids us to enter on far reaching hopes.”

Horace book Odes

Vitae summa brevis spem nos vetat inchoare longam.
Book I, ode iv, line 15
Odes (c. 23 BC and 13 BC)

Leonardo DiCaprio photo

“I got attention by being funny at school, pretending to be retarded, and jumping around with a deformed hand.”

Leonardo DiCaprio (1974) American actor and film producer

http://www.flixster.com/actor/leonardo-di-caprio/leonardo-dicaprio-quotes

Neal Stephenson photo

“As far as culture and politics are concerned, the important theme is long-attention-span vs. short-attention-span thinking. I'm sure that your readers can think of any number of ways in which having a longer attention span can be useful. But I'll name one. Bankers with long attention spans don't lend money to people who can't pay it back. If we had more bankers who adopted a long-term view of their responsibilities, we might not be in the middle of a financial crisis that is blowing away 150-year-old investment banks.”

Neal Stephenson (1959) American science fiction writer

In response to whether Anathem "reflects today's culture or politics," from an interview published Sept. 22, 2008 by MIT News http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/stephenson-qa-0922.html

Marshall McLuhan photo

“Attention spans get very weak at the speed of light, and that goes along with a very weak identity.”

Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980) Canadian educator, philosopher, and scholar-- a professor of English literature, a literary critic, and a …

1970s, The Education of Mike McManus, TVOntario, December 28 1977

Teal Swan photo

“In the information age, attention spans have decreased exponentially. People want the incredibly complex practice and nature of awareness compressed into a two-minute sound bite. This is not possible. It is not real learning and it is not real personal transformation. It is the momentary drug-like hit of entertainment and inspiration.”

Teal Swan (1984) American spiritual teacher

“Management Mind in the Automobile Industry has always had a great contempt for politics. The point has been missed that although we, in the Automobile Industry have continually dismissed politics and government as quite unworthy of the attention of serious-minded men like ourselves, politics and government have been continually increasing their interest in the Automobile.”

James D. Mooney (1884–1957) American businessman

James D. Mooney (1933), cited in: Glenn Yago (1980), ;;The Decline of Public Transit in the United States and Germany. p. 39

Related topics