Attention Span. in Whey and Sonic Screwdrivers.

The brain has a fascinating way of tuning out a lot of background noise. Things that are everyday or ordinary in some way just aren’t processed that heavily. Do you feel your socks? Ever drive to work/school and feel “HOW DID I GET HERE?” Our brains are designed to filter the ordinary, so we can deal with the unexpected.

Which begs the question of what gets our attention. I’d argue one of two things: Something unexpected, something personally sensitive, or something that despite being trivial somehow makes you uncomfortable.

Something unexpected would be a car about to cut you off.

Something personally sensitive would be someone talking about… pick your trigger.

And something trivial would be a goddamned dress. IF YOU WANT IT TO GO AWAY, STOP TALKING ABOUT IT.

Guess I broke my own rule of not talking about memes that don’t make sense to me.

I was going to make some commentary on how war, poverty, disease, strife, republicans, and rape have somehow become background noise, but I wasn’t sure how to ninja-like sneak it in. It’s not a judgement on anyone else. We’re ALL desensitized to the horrors of the world.