YARATICI KODLAMA: Ali Özgün Akyüz, 2024.
CREATIVE CODING: Ali Özgün Akyüz, 2024.

dIStRacTeD
Ali Özgün Akyüz

There are many ways in which distraction can affect people’s lives but one of the most prominent is reduced productivity at the workplace or school. When individuals cannot concentrate well, accomplishing their tasks becomes hard as they should be. Therefore, the same issue may lead to missed deadlines and poor performance that would only raise your anxiety levels or make motivation less apparent. The cyclical nature of this impact may worsen the problem, leading to more derision in performances. Similarly, distraction has far-reaching implications outside professional or learning institutions; it disrupts interpersonal relationships too. People who often get distracted appear uncaring or insensitive hence inviting conflict and misunderstanding between themselves and others. This view causes difficulty in keeping up with family members and friends, which makes it impossible for people to remain in stable interpersonal relations.

Personally, However, my encounters with diverting have proved to be very interesting. It wasn’t until I joined the university when I came to understand how much of a problem I had when it comes to being distracted. But though I attended every lesson, on one occasion it hit me that indeed I was not present in that particular lecture. The theme seemed to re-occur severally in my childhood, only to be realized in its full extent long after. Noticing that problem earlier might have caused a remarkable change in how I conducted myself in class or simply approached people from different backgrounds outside class; interrupting lessons and normal communication at large. Whenever I was with my buddies, other than them presenting something interesting to me orally, my thoughts kept trailing into irrelevant things – it was hard concentrating with the ongoing conversation. Since I couldn't fully listen to what they were  saying, I couldn't comment on the subject afterwards. In my one-on-one relationships, people would tell me that I wasn't listening or caring about them. I was actually listening to them, but I couldn't make an immediate comment because I couldn't fully focus on what they were saying.

By seeking professional help I was on course towards solving these dilemmas. On the one hand this particular intervention made it easier to concentrate on school stuff ; on the other hand something weird happened within me such that instead of being calm and peaceful as usual I became too sensitive prompting others around me to wonder what had gone wrong with me especially since there was nothing obvious that had made me change overnight from being a jovial person into an irritable one . So because of this finding I was forced to question anew whether success in terms of marks was worth any price extracted from my sense of self.

Overall, the journey of managing distraction is ongoing, involving continuous self-awareness and adjustments to find a balance between productivity and maintaining one’s true self.



By seeking professional help I was on course towards solving these dilemmas. On the one hand this particular intervention made it easier to concentrate on school stuff ; on the other hand something weird happened within me such that instead of being calm and peaceful as usual I became too sensitive prompting others around me to wonder what had gone wrong with me especially since there was nothing obvious that had made me change overnight from being a jovial person into an irritable one . So because of this finding I was forced to question anew whether success in terms of marks was worth any price extracted from my sense of self.

Overall, the journey of managing distraction is ongoing, involving continuous self-awareness and adjustments to find a balance between productivity and maintaining one’s true self.


FOTOĞRAF: Ali Özgün Akyüz’ün kişisel arşivi, 2024.
PHOTOGRAPH: Ali Özgün Akyüz's  personal archive, 2024.
class Arrow {
  int id, posX, posY, colorofarrow, w, h, thickness, angle, alpha;

  Arrow(int id, int posX, int posY, int w, int h, int thickness, int angle, int colorofarrow, int alpha) {
    this.id = id;
    this.posX = posX;
    this.posY = posY;
    this.w = w;
    this.h = h;
    this.thickness = thickness;
    this.angle = angle;
    this.colorofarrow = colorofarrow;
    this.alpha = alpha;
 }

void drawArrow(boolean mirrorX, boolean mirrorY) {
   float drawAngle = radians(angle);
   int x = posX;
   int y = posY;


   if (mirrorX) {
     x = width / 2 - (posX - width / 2);
     drawAngle = -drawAngle;
   }

   if (mirrorY) {
     y = height / 2 - (posY - height / 2);
     drawAngle = -drawAngle;
   }

 int fill_color_selector = ceil(map(colorofarrow, 1, 101, 0, 3));
  int alphavalue = floor(map(alpha,1,101,120,180));


  switch(fill_color_selector) {
     case 1:
       int r = floor(random(2));
       if (r==0){
         fill(240, 180, 91, alphavalue); stroke(240, 180, 91, 255);  break;
       }
       else {
         int r2 = floor(random(2));
         if(r2==0){
            fill(44, 41, 98, alphavalue); stroke(44, 41, 98, 255); break;
         } else {
           fill(221, 85, 70, alphavalue); stroke(221, 85, 70, 255);  break;
         }
       }
     case 2:
       fill(44, 41, 98, alphavalue); stroke(44, 41, 98, 255); break;
     case 3:
       fill(221, 85, 70, alphavalue); stroke(221, 85, 70, 255);  break;
   }

   strokeWeight(int(random(2,5)));
   pushMatrix();
   translate(x, y);
   scale(0.8);
   rotate(drawAngle);
   beginShape();
   vertex(0, -thickness * 0.5);
   vertex(-w * 0.5, -thickness * 0.5);
   vertex(-w * 0.5, thickness * 0.5);
   vertex(0, thickness * 0.5);
   vertex(0, h * 0.5);
   vertex(w * 0.5, 0);
   vertex(0, -h * 0.5);
   endShape(CLOSE);
   popMatrix();
 }
}