This book review was written by Eugene Kernes
“Attention is the substance of
life. Every moment we are awake we are
paying attention to something, whether through our affirmative choice or
because something or someone has compelled it.
Ultimately, these instants of attention accrue into a life.” – Christopher
L. Hayes, Chapter 1: The Sirens’ Call, Page 10
“The mental processes of attention exist to screen
information because there is too much of it, but what happens when there is too
little? We are finicky creatures, and
there’s a tenuous equilibrium where we have just enough to occupy our minds,
but not too little and not too much.
When there’s too much, we describe ourselves as distracted or
overwhelmed; when there’s too little to pay attention to, we’re bored and
restless.” – Christopher L. Hayes, Chapter 3: The Root of Evil, Page 60
“Obviously, no farmer can grow new sets of eyeballs to watch
our screens, no stores of human attention lie buried in the ground. There are a certain number of humans, with a
certain number of waking hours and a fixed amount of attention to capture. When attention capitalists want to increase
the supply, they have no means of creating it; they much instead find new ways
to take it from us.” – Christopher L. Hayes, Chapter 5: Alienation, Page 122
Is This An Overview?
Attention is a resource that each person constantly uses
when they are awake. While information
is abundant and grows, attention is an internal scarce resource. Attention cannot be created on demand, as
there is a limited number of people, waking hours, and attention span. Giving attention to something, enables
blindness to other details. Competing
for attention is zero-sum, for a competitor who gains attention, another loses
attention. Competition for limited
attention incentivizes behaviors that can be inappropriate, dramatic, and
sensationalist as those are features that capture attention. Attention becomes captured at the expense of
the person who gives attention, as taking voluntary attention away from a
person is stealing their time.
Attention is a fundamental human need, with much of social
life being devoted to the pursuit of attention.
Wealth and power can be derived from obtaining attention from
others. Pleasure can be derived from
having attention taken away, but there is an attentional equilibrium. A person can become distracted or overwhelmed
when there is too much demand for their attention. A person can become bored and restless when
there is too little demand for their attention.
Attention can become addictive, as the more pleasure is derived from
giving attention, the more attention is needed to get the same pleasure. With a variety of distractions available to
take attention away, cultures can reduce the attention span that makes focus
difficult, can make solitude a mental health hazard.
What Are The Types Of Attention?
Voluntary attention is when the person is in control,
choosing where to focus. Involuntary
attention is when attention is directed independently of desire. Social attention is when the person becomes
the object of another’s attention, also known as social status.
Caveats?
While claims are made on disapproved techniques that
manipulate attention, the author can use the same techniques. Among the examples and explanations that
manipulative techniques are used on, contains a political bias.
