"Attention Is the Holy Grail"

Ever try to pinpoint what it is that draws you back to moving water and the single-minded focus required to catch rising trout or tailing bonefish? In this morning’s New York Times, Matt Richtel writes about the effects of heavy use of technology on our psychological well-being, as well as the false sense of urgency created when we are unable to focus. His thoughts are based a recent trip by five neuroscientists who rafted down the San Juan River in search of answers.
“Scientists have long thought about how new forms of media affect attention — from the printing press to the television. But the modern study of attention emerged in the early 1980s with the spread of machines that allowed researchers to see changes in blood flow and electrical activity in the brain.”