In a world where attention is perpetually demanded - consensual or not - it has never been more important to have a strong conviction in yourself. The news wants you to pay attention to their narrative of world events; to spread propaganda for their stakeholders. people on social media seek your attention by asserting their opinions as gospels; by spewing hate and negativity; by spreading pseudo-intellectual commentaries lauded as curious insights into the current state of affairs. Companies hijack your attention by intruding into more spaces to sell you their latest products.

Sadly, the incentive of committing the crime of attention thievery has never been more attractive. The more people commit attention thefts, the more they are awarded. In desperation for the reward, the Attention Machine was built: a machine that automates the mass production of attention grabbers, optimized for user comfort.

The scariest part is that the Machine plays right into the weakness of System 1, the system that relies on intuition and leans into comfort. It influences your thinking without your conscious awareness. Over time, one adopts beliefs that they have not even consciously processed.

The only line of defense one has is to have conviction, to have a strong set of beliefs built on top of a solid foundation of priors. The only information one should pay attention to is the one that either builds on top of your priors or the one that meaningfully challenges them. The rest is noises that are counterproductive and that wields enough power to destroy your psyche.