Consciousness is the vital human resource now in need of conservation

Evidence

What is called for might be termed a human reclamation project. For comparison, consider the sort of effort undertaken to reclaim some (other) natural resource, as when returning the land under an abandoned parking lot to wilderness. Over the coming century, the most vital human resource in need of conservation and protection is likely to be our own consciousness and mental space. In practice, a movement might begin with individuals making incremental changes, ones as simple as setting aside blocks of time, like the weekend, to be spent beyond the reach of the attention merchants. The first stirrings can be seen in the existing practices of “unplugging” or taking “digital Sabbaths.” The same impulse can lead also to reclaiming more physical sanctuaries, not only the writer’s backyard shed, but the classroom, the office, and the home, as well—any place where we mean to interact with one another or achieve something we know requires a serious level of concentration. — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 1140

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to digital Sabbath and unplugging movements already documented in earlier chapters on attention harvesting. — connects to: Human consciousness is undergoing significant evolution currently. — Dan Harris, 10 percent Happier, 0; Industrialized attention extraction despoils the shared human spirit as pollution despoils water. — The Friends of Attention, Attensity!: A Manifesto of the…, 479; Attention is becoming the hegemonic resource restructuring material production — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 47 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Industrialized attention extraction despoils the shared human spirit as pollution despoils water. #corroborates (0.85) — The Friends of Attention, Attensity!, 479
• Attention is becoming the hegemonic resource restructuring material production #expands (0.82) — Yves Citton, The Ecology of Attention, 47
• Human consciousness is undergoing significant evolution currently. #expands (0.78) — Dan Harris, 10 percent Happier, 0