Attention is not failing.
It is being designed.

A book and live instrument exploring how modern environments reshape human attention — and how it can be restored.

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The Framework

This work proposes a structural theory of attention based on the interaction between environmental design and human cognitive architecture.

The Five Modes of Attention

Reactive Attention: Fast, stimulus-driven orientation toward salient external signals.
Directed Attention: Deliberate, goal-oriented focus under voluntary control.
Carried Attention: Sustained immersion within structured or narrative environments.
Coordinated Attention: Shared alignment of attention across individuals or groups.
Fragmented Attention: Rapid switching across competing stimuli with reduced continuity.

The Live Instrument

Readers can complete a structured audit measuring Structural Capacity and Fragmentation Load. Results generate a Stability Score and a visual radar profile, positioned relative to a growing population dataset.

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The Book

Attention, Media and the Modern Mind integrates cognitive science, film research, ritual theory, and digital economics to propose a structural theory of attention for the 21st century.

Test your understanding of the core ideas through the end-of-book assessment.

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Reader Contributions

This is an ongoing research programme. Readers can submit errata, corrections, reflections, and requests for future topics. Contributions help refine future editions and shape ongoing essays.

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Ongoing Essays & Insights

Essays, research updates, and reader reflections continue on Substack. Topics include attentional economics, civic responsibility, digital architecture, and emerging findings from the audit dataset.

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This project uses a hybrid license. Code is open source; framework and content are non-commercial.