Abstrakt

The bleeding of conscious intensity.

Hancock PA

Most mornings I stand alone in line at the coffee shop. But I am not by myself of course. Indeed, I am surrounded by people who are all gazing intently at some small screen they are holding in front of them. Physically, they are present but cognitively they are very much elsewhere. They stumble forward like mindless automata; their consciousness wandering across remote virtual landscapes but with just enough residual attention to shuffle that next step forward. As you can see, I am fascinated by this behavioural dilution of experience and in this commentary, look to explore some issues that this vector of evolution raises for all of us; researcher and coffee drinker alike. This exploration is founded upon a deceptively simple, but rather perverse inquirywhat is normal? For if we are to specify abnormality and the way it can be remediated, we must be certain sure about the goal we are aiming at.