Attention
Information and media abundance have made us cognitively impatient. We don't want to spend the time.
As Iris Murdoch puts it, “reality” is “that which is revealed to the patient eye of love.” Or, elsewhere, “Attention is rewarded by a knowledge of reality.”
L. M. Sacasas • What You Get Is the World
“..patterns of attention — what we choose to notice and what we do not — are how we render reality for ourselves, and thus have a direct bearing on what we feel is possible at any given time. These aspects, taken together, suggest to me the revolutionary potential of taking back our attention” [Jenny Odell]
But if the deep roots of boredom are in a lack of meaning, rather than a shortage of stimuli, and if there is a subtle, multilayered process by which information can give rise to meaning, then the constant flow of information to which we are becoming habituated cannot deliver on such a promise. At best, it allows us to distract ourselves with the p... See more
Acknowledge just how much of what you think, feel and do is picked up from others, consciously and unconsciously, and try to become more conscious of more of them.
Ian Leslie • How To Be Influenced
Skillful management of attention is the indispensable condition of the good life and the key to improving every aspect of your experience.. What do you choose to focus on, and what do you choose to ignore? Attention defines your life in many ways.
Attention is to see the world truthfully, overcoming our natural self-centeredness. It’s both what goes out and seeks something with a measure of focus and a readiness to perceive what is there — openness, active reception of what is in front of us. To be attentive is to be present, stretching to be at hand. (Sacasas)
Consider the moments during your day that you feel most engaged, curious, and motivated. What were you doing at the time?
Rhea Purohit • You’re Probably Using AI Wrong
The discomfort of giving ourselves over to meaningful activities is what leads us towards distraction (Sacasas)
- We inhabit a techno-social environment manufactured to fracture our attention.
- The interests served by this environment in turn pathologize the resultant inattention.
- These same interests devise and enforce new techniques to discipline the inattentive subject.