But it may be, too, that my initial proposition requires a qualification. Let’s put it this way: you and I have exactly as much attention as we need at any given moment provided that at that moment we also know what it would be good for us to do.This qualification also stems from Illich’s insights, so allow me to elaborate. His crusade against the ... See more
L. M. Sacasas • Your Attention Is Not a Resource
W. H. Auden: “Choice of attention—to pay attention to this and ignore that—is to the inner life what choice of action is to the outer. In both cases man is responsible for his choice and must accept the consequences.” Pay attention, or accept the consequences of your failure. “I
Maria Konnikova • The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win
We might be predisposed to think of attention as a laborious effort of the will. But I don’t think this is quite right. Our attention can, for example, be solicited by what is beautiful or compelling in such a way that we will find it a pleasure to give and sorrow to withdraw. As Simone Weil has put it, “Attention is bound up with desire. Not with ... See more
theconvivialsociety.substack.com • The Face Stares Back
ATTENTION AND will are so closely linked, then we have even more reason to worry about an entire economy and information ecosystem preying on our attention.