Rob Millard and Anecdote point us to — dare I say — a beautiful representation of complex systems thinking: The Art of Complex Problem Solving.

(For full enjoyment, mouse over the bullet point list in the upper left corner of the page.)

In this modern age, most white collar workers rely heavily on their computer. News, email, spreadsheets — all emitted from a glowing LCD screen.

Christopher Kenton is no different. He claims here that he gets 95% of his information digitally. I can relate to that!

That’s why Kenton’s latest revelation, News at Life Speed, struck me. Just when I’m thinking that I should ditch the hard copy life and go 100% digital, he explains what happened after ordering real subscriptions of some of his favorite news publications (bold text is mine):

I [ordered] these publications with what suddenly feels like a nostalgic binge. It’ll be nice, I think, to sit on the porch swing with my coffee and read [the Wall Street Journal]. And that’s exactly what happened. I found myself kicking back at various times to relax and absorb the news and insight I’m so addicted to. And that eventually led to an unexpected, but not very surprising insight. I’m getting more value out of the print journals than I am online. Why? A simple side effect of psychology: it’s not only the data that matters, but the environment–the experience in which the data is collected.

When I gather information on my computer, I’m firmly rooted in the same environment and attitude I use for so many action-oriented tasks. I communicate through my computer. Think on my computer. Entertain myself on my computer. It’s all so…functional, and rigid. I sit up straight in my chair, staring at a single point in space, processing. When I read a magazine–just like when I read a book–I can kick my feet up, relax, and absorb. And I’m finding it makes a difference. I read deeper into the stories. I think about them more. I enjoy the experience more. But more importantly, I’m finding that I retain a lot more. It may sound a little strange, but I have the impression that I’m not emulating a computer with my brain–processing so many bits of data–but feeding my brain with ideas. It’s not a function of the information I’m gathering, but the environment I create to gather it. And what a subtle, but effective difference it seems to make.

Christopher’s insight was made in the context of news publications. I think it applies to nearly all text-based content, and I’m sure he would agree.

I’m not giving up television, the web or other digital sources of information. But Kenton is right. Sometimes we need to savor ink on paper.