We also learn that meditation and mental exercises have been shown to improve the mind's ability to attend.Р”Р„s someone with a diagnosis of attention deficit disorder, I was especially disappointed at how few words Gallagher spent on this central issue. We learn that attention can be diffuse or focused, and there are benefits to either state. The meat of the book is sandwiched in the middle, where the author guides the reader through the leading research on focus and attention.

Instead of building towards a thesis or providing an organized survey of her theme, author Winifred Gallagher begins and ends 'Rapt' with scattered essays that don't seem to be much about focus and attention at all. We learn that attention can be diffuse or focused, and ther I'm disappointed that this book about attention was not, itself, more sharply focused. I'm disappointed that this book about attention was not, itself, more sharply focused. In asserting its groundbreaking thesis-the wise investment of your attention is the single most important thing you can do to improve your well-being- Rapt yields fresh insights into the nature of reality and what it means to be fully alive.more No matter what your quotient of wealth, looks, brains, or fame, increasing your satisfaction means focusing more on what really interests you and less on what doesnРІР‚в„ўt. In Rapt, Gallagher introduces us to a diverse cast of characters-artists and ranchers, birders and scientists-who have learned to do just that and whose stories are profound lessons in the art of living the interested life. As suggested by the expression РІР‚Сљpay attention,РІР‚Сњ this cognitive currency is a finite resource that we must learn to spend wisely. That we focus may be a biological necessity- research now proves we can process only a little information at a time, or about 173 billion bits over an average life-but the good news is that we have much more control over our focus than we think, which gives us a remarkable yet underappreciated capacity to influence our experience. ScienceРІР‚в„ўs major contribution to the study of attention has been the discovery that its basic mechanism is an either/or process of selection.

Gallagher looks beyond sound bites on our proliferating BlackBerries and the increased incidence of ADD in children to the discoveries of neuroscience and psychology and the wisdom of home truths, profoundly altering and expanding the contemporary conversation on attention and its power. Gallagher grapples with provocative questions-Can we train our focus? WhatРІР‚в„ўs different about the way creative people pay attention? Why do we often zero in on the wrong factors when making big decisions, like where to move?-driving us to reconsider what we think we know about attention. In Rapt, acclaimed behavioral science writer Winifred Gallagher makes the radical argument that the quality of your life largely depends on what you choose to pay attention to and how you choose to do it. Gallagher grapples with provocative questions-Can we train our fo Winifred Gallagher revolutionizes our understanding of attention and the creation of the interested life Winifred Gallagher revolutionizes our understanding of attention and the creation of the interested life In Rapt, acclaimed behavioral science writer Winifred Gallagher makes the radical argument that the quality of your life largely depends on what you choose to pay attention to and how you choose to do it.

With rapt attention