Laypeople hold equal authority with scientists over their own attention.
Evidence
Let’s review some examples. Not because we are anti-science. But because we feel that it is genuinely important for you, a reader of this book, and for all the people who care about Attention Activism, to put aside (now and again) that well-meaning reflex to defer to anyone who identifies as a scientist. Be polite to them! They are great, and we need them in lots of ways! But where attention is concerned, you know every bit as much about the subject as they do. Because human attention is yours. Take it seriously yourself, and let’s turn to the work of figuring out for ourselves what it is, and what we can do with it. — The Friends of Attention, Attensity!, 144
Categorization
Category: Contrarian or Surprising Claims
- XREF: Echoes standpoint-theory/epistemic-justice themes from earlier reading; also bridges to the reader’s ‘sacrifice’ work on lay expertise in ritual matters.
Related
- Laypeople know as much about attention as scientists do (similarity 0.95)
- Attention is the substrate of care for self, community, and planet. (similarity 0.83)
- The attention economy rests on a hidden false premise about attention. (similarity 0.80)
- Most people equate attention with screen-based task focus (similarity 0.79)
- The dispute over attention is ultimately an argument about what constitutes our humanity (similarity 0.79)
- Attention extraction is a historical contingent result of human choice (similarity 0.79)
- Debates about attention are ultimately ontological, not political (similarity 0.79)
- Distraction is actually unauthorized attention, power-determined (similarity 0.78)
- Funding and institutional context channel what attention science can discover (similarity 0.78)
- Attention is a fundamental life resource, not a discretionary commodity. (similarity 0.78)