WorkLife: The truth about the attention crisis with historian Daniel Immerwahr

In this episode of "Rethinking," Adam Grant interviews historian Daniel Immerwahr about the perceived "attention crisis." Immerwahr argues against the common belief that attention spans are shrinking, suggesting instead that people are simply focusing on different things. Drawing on historical examples, he notes that concerns about declining attention are not new and that past generations worried about novels and other forms of entertainment in similar ways. They discuss the value of distraction, the potential downsides of intense focus, and the role of motivation in sustaining attention. They also touch on the benefits of reading novels for empathy and the complexities of evaluating art forms like opera and video games. Ultimately, they conclude that the real issue is not a lack of attention, but rather where people choose to direct it.