Defaults of Attention

Not all attention is intentional. What then?

There’s a difference between seeing and looking, between hearing and listening, says Andrew Noble. But these different forms of attention have been collapsed together in recent thinking, he argues. Not all attention is active or under our conscious control.

We also need to think about passive attention, and how our “default” settings are set up.

While there is much advice on cultivating active attention, there is a lack of discussion on passive seeing and hearing. Noble suggests that modern technology has altered what we see and hear, and that our passive learning functions have grown numb.

Noble takes up these questions in light of the design choices in modern cars that separate drivers from the world outside. He believes these choices may hinder our opportunities for reflection and connection with others. He continues…

“But the thing nagging me in all this is whether some defaults in life just are the way they are in a sinful world and cannot be overcome, at least without great effort.”

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