Attention is more valuable when it diverges from others than when it aligns

Evidence

As a consequence, Cathy Davidson points to an attentional dynamic that is very different to the dynamic of unison. Far from having to align with a single melody repeated on everyone’s lips, echoes are to be valued more highly when they diverge from the melodic line that we already have in our heads. This ATTENTION AS COUNTERPOINT makes the illumination of our blind spots through the decentring of perspective the essential aim of attentional effort. — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 526

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines ‘attention as counterpoint’ – the chapter’s core coinage contrasting with the dominant unison model.
• XREF: connects to: Attracting and commanding attention signals significance and quality in status systems. — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 230; Rooted attention should be trusted more than managerial attention in conflicts — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 317; Interlaced but decoupled attentions generate knowledge exceeding any member’s contribution — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 341 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Attentional alignment with others generates communal powers no individual could reach alone #contradicts (0.90) — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 111
• Individual attention selection spontaneously aligns people into shared communities of sensibility #contradicts (0.88) — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 110
• Attention is alignment, the same faculty on individual and collective levels #contradicts (0.85)
• Attention operates as an ecosystem of echoes and variations rather than transmissions #expands (0.72) — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 531