Pay Attention: Take Off Those Headphones, Put Away That Video Game, Close That Book ...

Remember when you were a kid, sitting around with a book, or a game, or just daydreaming, and some adult -- a parent or a teacher or maybe a coach -- yelled at you, "Pay attention."

And you said -- automatically -- "I am paying attention."

But, of course, you weren't. You were in your own world, and just trying to keep a small piece of your mind alert for what the adult in question found important, to stay out of trouble. Not very successfully, I might add, or they wouldn't have yelled at you.

Now I'm not here to criticize you for tuning out boring teachers or lectures on cleaning up your room -- far from it. My high school English teacher's take on English poets drove me nuts, so I sat in the back of the room and read Sartre. These days I tend to read and listen to the radio while eating dinner.

But I've noticed something: If there's an interesting news report on the radio, or a song I really love, I tend to read a page without knowing what I read. Likewise, when I get engrossed in what I'm reading, I miss what was said on the radio, often coming out of my fog to find that I've just missed the story I most wanted to hear. And sometimes I find I've finished dinner without noticing what I ate.

And I really didn't listen to the English teacher.

If you're really paying attention to one thing, you're giving something else short shrift. That doesn't really matter when you're home alone with the radio and a book, but it's hugely important when you're walking down the street. Or driving.

I've been musing on this ever since I heard about the tragic rail crash in Los Angeles, in which at least 25 people died. Some reports on the crash suggest that the engineer was text-messaging at the time of the crash -- though I don't know if this has been actually proved -- and there has been a rush to pass a rule against using portable electronics while running a train.

Now you'd think such a rule wouldn't be necessary, that any sane person would know you couldn't drive a train and text message at the same time. But given the number of people who drive cars while talking on their cell phones (and yes, text messaging), it appears that there are large numbers of people who really don't understand how much attention it takes to operate a train or a car, and how much their attention can be dragged away by an interesting text-message conversation.

It's just too easy to get caught up in one of the things you're doing, at the expense of the others, and if the thing you're not paying attention to happens to be dangerous, accidents happen.

How does this tie into self defense? If you're paying attention, you can avoid whatever trouble is up ahead, whether it's bad traffic or someone who gives you the creeps. Protecting yourself from attack by other human beings is really quite similar to protecting yourself from accidents.

Don't handicap yourself by dividing your attention when you're driving, biking, or even walking or jogging. Keep yourself and others safe: Pay attention.

Pay Attention: USA Track & Field Is Right to Ban iPods at Races

The New York Times reports that marathoners are up in arms about bans on iPods and other portable music players at road races.

According to The Times, the national governing body for running, USA Track & Field, banned the devices "to ensure safety and to prevent runners from having a competitive edge."

I don't care about the competitive edge argument -- I'll leave that debate to the running community -- but they're dead on about safety: No one should use a device that blocks hearing when they're running on public roads or trails, or when they're running in a crowd. You need to be able to hear.

I don't know what problems the race organizers have found -- The Times story was short on specifics -- but I can make some guesses. People oblivious to other people around them can cause collisions in a crowd. You can't hear shouted instructions when you've got your music turned up. And stragglers who end up running more or less alone toward the end of the race won't be able to hear cars whose drivers aren't aware the marathon is still going.

But the most important reason to ban these devices at races is to encourage people to stop using them when they train on their own. It's very dangerous to wear earphones running down city streets or on hike and bike trails. You can't hear the cars, you can't hear the bicyclists, you can't hear people yelling something at you, and you really can't hear muggers. Given that marathoners in particular are putting in a lot of miles, they're likely to be running before sunrise or after sunset, so they're already at a disadvantage.

People have been attacked -- raped and even murdered -- when running on a trail. The risk is there. You don't want to increase the risk by blocking your hearing.

The Times article quoted a woman who suggested that if they banned iPods, they should ban deaf runners. But that's disingenuous. In the first place, people with hearing problems develop strategies so that they can take in extra information through other senses, while people with regular hearing who block it don't have those same skills.

Secondly, accommodating those who have no choice about their ability to hear (or see or use their legs) is not the same as accommodating those who just want a soundtrack for their lives.

Save your iPods for running on the treadmill or inside track at your gym. But when you're out on streets or trails -- whether you're racing or training -- leave them at home. Blocking your hearing puts you at unnecessary risk. It's just that simple.

Pay Attention: More on iPods and Crime

This morning's Marketplace Morning Report on NPR included a report blaming increased crime on popular devices like the iPod.

The report, based on an Urban Institute study (pdf of full report here), suggests that portable music devices and other expensive portable high tech devices are both highly desirable and easy to steal.

There's one more reason why the devices are an invitation to robbery: Those using them aren't paying attention.

On the Marketplace program, economics correspondent Chris Farrell observed, "There was an attraction, it's an expensive item, people walking around aren't necessarily paying attention [emphasis added], and the cost of committing the crime went down."

The same point was made in the abstract for the report, which argues that increased opportunities for crime increase crime:

At the same time that violent crime rates began to rise, America’s streets filled with millions of people visibly wearing, and being distracted by [emphasis added], expensive electronic gear. Thus, there was a marked increase in both the supply of potential victims and opportunities for would-be offenders.

In the full report, the authors, John Roman and Aaron Chalfin, explain why iPods are distracting:

Finally, since iPods transmit sound to both ears, rather than just one in the case of cell phones, iPod users may be less aware of their surroundings than users of other consumer products.

While I question whether people conducting serious conversations on their cell phones are actually aware of their surroundings -- surely if they were they wouldn't be talking about clearly private matters in such loud voices -- the report is right about how much iPods cut off hearing.

The Urban Institute report wants improved crime information, so that authorities can respond to changes in crime patterns as they occur. On Marketplace, Farrell suggested that the manufacturers of expensive, portable high tech devices need to take responsibility for making their products less attractive to thieves.

I'm sure both those things are important, but there's a simpler low tech solution anyone can apply: Don't use your iPod when you need to pay attention to what's going on around you. It is possible to walk down the street without listening to music.

Pay Attention: Life Doesn't Need a Personal Soundtrack

I'm riding my bike on the trail in Rock Creek Park. A man is running just ahead of me. I call out, "Passing on your right." But he doesn't hear me: He's listening to his iPod.

Fortunately, I've never run down a jogger with my bike, but that's because I'm paying attention. Joggers wearing earbuds aren't; they've blocked a significant portion of their hearing. And that means they aren't going to hear trouble coming along behind them, whether the trouble is a mugger or an inattentive bicyclist.

We've been told to pay attention all our lives. It's often annoying advice, but it's also the easiest way to keep yourself safe. Paying attention not only protects you from attack; it also alerts you to other dangers, like fast moving cars and kids on skateboards careening out of control. Protecting yourself from accidents is just as important as protecting yourself from crime.

When you're out running or walking, you have three primary sense for information: sight, hearing, and smell. Cut off one of those, and you're at greater risk.

So put away the music and take in the sounds around you as you jog through the park or walk to work. Save the iPod for times when hearing what goes on around you isn't necessary to keep you safe.