Today we think about attention spans as a matter of duration, something that can be measured in seconds or minutes. Dr. Cattell’s early research, by contrast, mostly focused on the span in a spatial sense: How many objects could a person take in at a glance? Laboratory studies of how time affects attention weren’t far behind, largely driven by the... See more

Does it need to be said? We are not machines. Our lives are not data problems that can be quantitatively optimized. And the actual human ability to attend is something much more expansive and much more beautiful than a tool for filtering information or extending our time on task. True attention lies at the heart of personhood: reason, judgment,... See more

“The authentic and pure values — truth, beauty and goodness — in the activity of a human being are the result of one and the same act, a certain application of the full attention to the object.”