Chris Hayes

You know, the Internet has opened this cornucopia of different things you can pay attention to. So we're constantly in this battle between these two forms of attention that are in our heads and the different entities that are trying to compel our attention against our will and then our own kind of volitional attempt to control it.

Mostly not, occasionally yes, but mostly I have been sober while watching the cleaning carpets and I've still found them incredibly common.

Mostly not, occasionally yes, but mostly I have been sober while watching the cleaning carpets and I've still found them incredibly common.

Mostly not, occasionally yes, but mostly I have been sober while watching the cleaning carpets and I've still found them incredibly common.

That is. That's the – I don't know if you've seen these, but they, like, they take these super, super dirty carpets. It's like a genre video. There's a million different ones now, which indicates that that's not just me. Lots of people feel this way.

That is. That's the – I don't know if you've seen these, but they, like, they take these super, super dirty carpets. It's like a genre video. There's a million different ones now, which indicates that that's not just me. Lots of people feel this way.

That is. That's the – I don't know if you've seen these, but they, like, they take these super, super dirty carpets. It's like a genre video. There's a million different ones now, which indicates that that's not just me. Lots of people feel this way.

So, yeah, that's basically – That's how I think about compelled involuntary attention. And I do think that because I think we're more familiar with it in the context of our appetites and hungers, I think it's a really useful and grounding metaphor because I think it functions in a very similar way.

So, yeah, that's basically – That's how I think about compelled involuntary attention. And I do think that because I think we're more familiar with it in the context of our appetites and hungers, I think it's a really useful and grounding metaphor because I think it functions in a very similar way.

So, yeah, that's basically – That's how I think about compelled involuntary attention. And I do think that because I think we're more familiar with it in the context of our appetites and hungers, I think it's a really useful and grounding metaphor because I think it functions in a very similar way.

Yeah. I mean, I think the reason that it's so foundational, social attention, and I think it's slightly counterintuitive because I think people have very different attitudes and personal dispositions towards social attention. Lots of people don't like it. But the foundational truth about being a human is we come into the world utterly helpless and dependent completely on care.

Yeah. I mean, I think the reason that it's so foundational, social attention, and I think it's slightly counterintuitive because I think people have very different attitudes and personal dispositions towards social attention. Lots of people don't like it. But the foundational truth about being a human is we come into the world utterly helpless and dependent completely on care.

Yeah. I mean, I think the reason that it's so foundational, social attention, and I think it's slightly counterintuitive because I think people have very different attitudes and personal dispositions towards social attention. Lots of people don't like it. But the foundational truth about being a human is we come into the world utterly helpless and dependent completely on care.

And the thing prior to that care is attention. Right. And the best way to see this is the child's wail. The most powerful tool that the newborn has is the cry. And the reason they have the cry is it's their siren. It compels our attention.

And the thing prior to that care is attention. Right. And the best way to see this is the child's wail. The most powerful tool that the newborn has is the cry. And the reason they have the cry is it's their siren. It compels our attention.

And the thing prior to that care is attention. Right. And the best way to see this is the child's wail. The most powerful tool that the newborn has is the cry. And the reason they have the cry is it's their siren. It compels our attention.

And the reason that it compels our attention and the reason they have to have the ability to compel our attention is because without attention, they will perish. And that is our human inheritance. That need from the moment we come gasping into the world for others' attention, that is foundational to every single one of us.

And the reason that it compels our attention and the reason they have to have the ability to compel our attention is because without attention, they will perish. And that is our human inheritance. That need from the moment we come gasping into the world for others' attention, that is foundational to every single one of us.

And the reason that it compels our attention and the reason they have to have the ability to compel our attention is because without attention, they will perish. And that is our human inheritance. That need from the moment we come gasping into the world for others' attention, that is foundational to every single one of us.

Okay. This is really, I think, a key thing to think about. So before civilization, you got social attention from people that you knew that you had relationships with. There weren't really strangers. And you might be able to put your social attention on someone you don't know, like a kind of godlike figure or a mythic hero that tales were told of.