Ecological understanding requires time and holding attention open

Evidence

So far, I’ve argued that practices of close attention can help us see into nuanced ecologies of being and identity. This kind of understanding has a few important requirements. First, it asks us to loosen our grip on the idea of discrete entities, simple origin stories, and neat A-to-B causalities. It also requires humility and openness, because to seek context is already to acknowledge that you don’t have the whole story. And perhaps most important, an ecological understanding takes time. Context is what appears when you hold your attention open for long enough; the longer you hold it, the more context appears. — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing, 520

Categorization

• DEFINE: States the chapter’s central definitional claim: context is what appears when attention is held open long enough.
• QUESTION: This is the crux the reader’s capaicousness-versus-evasion question hinges on: is ‘holding attention open for long enough’ a method or just patience? Worth testing the privilege critique against this.
• XREF: connects to: Even devoted field study leaves core questions about a common species unanswered — Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac: With Other…, 128; The plant species one notices reveals that person’s ecological education — Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac: With Other…, 165; Ecological restoration requires first knowing the organisms by name as individuals. — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom,…, 298 (+3 more)