Posts Tagged ‘herbert simon’
Herbert A. Simon: Attention Poverty
on Wednesday, March 1, 2017Herbert A. Simon Money Quote saying a wealth of information can require more attention than we can muster and overwhelms our capacity putting us in poverty of knowledge. Herbert A. Simon said:
“A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention” — Herbert A. Simon
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In this quote, Herbert A. Simon seems to be observing that in an age of immense information availability, one’s limited time and focus become more scarce resources. The “wealth of information” likely refers to the vast amounts of data, news, opinions and entertainment constantly vying for people’s attention across various media sources.
However, human attention spans have finite bounds. Thus, while access to information has never been greater on a societal level, the abundance of options can make it difficult for individuals to filter through and concentrate on any single topic or issue in depth.
The best interpretation is that Simon was warning of an “attention economy” where the proliferation of content risks diluting meaningful engagement due to our very human constraints in how much we can actually process at once.
Birthday: June 15, 1916 – Death: February 9, 2001
Herbert A. Simon: Poverty of Attention
on Monday, July 27, 2015Herbert Simon Money Quotation saying when there is too much to absorb – there is not enough capacity for understand it all. Herbert Simon said:
“A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention” — Herbert A. Simon
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In this quote, Herbert A. Simon is pointing out that an overabundance of available information in today’s world can paradoxically make it difficult for people to focus their attention. He seems to be suggesting that with so much data and stimuli competing for our notice, it becomes harder to concentrate deeply on any single topic.
The quote conveys Simon’s view that when there is a massive volume of information, it divides and fragments people’s attention across many different sources.
Overall, he appears to be acknowledging that in the digital age, having immense information at our fingertips through technology can paradoxically leave us feeling more distracted and less able to pay prolonged attention, since there is “a wealth of information” vying for our limited cognitive focus.
Birthday: June 15, 1916 – Death: February 9, 2001