… attention is not free. It is a zero-sum game. … too much information to handle or because violated reasonable … expectation …
… sensory input that fails to penetrate attentional filtering.
— survival reaction trigger
2. Attention is selective.
…
3. Consciousness requires attention.
…4. Attention does not require consciousness.
… This occurs in behaviors that have become automatic through overlearning, the learning of a skill well past the point of mastery. Much of normal driving occurs automatically and outside of awareness.
…
Another example occurs when a driver steers a curve. Without any awareness of having done so, drivers direct their attention to the tangent point on the curve.
…
5. All tasks require some degree of attention, although the required amount may be small.
…
Think of overlearned, automatic behavior as a mental servant whom we have ordered to go off and perform a task for us. Periodically, we might use a small sliver of attention to check on progress and ensure that our servant is doing the job correctly …
6. All tasks have an optimal level of attention.
…
Directing attention to automatic behaviors can be highly disruptive …
Conclusion
…
adapting and by offloading subtasks to automatic behaviors which can run in parallel with minimal attentional control … meant when we say that someone has learned a skill …
… exceptions happen when a person is in an information-seeking mode …
“without selective interest, experience is utter chaos.”
