Attention As A Simple Brain

Simple man sits. Simple hands clickity clack.

Simple brain have one thought.

His job.

Box goes ding. Box has red dot.

Simple brain remember cups in sink. Simple hands open new tab to check one tiny ding. Simple brain wants black bean water. Maybe burn focus leaves also.

Simple ears hear trumpets. Simple mouth says hello. Simple hands still clickity clack.

Simple brain wants to do job.

The job become jobs.

Simple brain do the jobs.

Sun goes down.

Job still there.

Box has new red dot. Tiny numbers inside red dot.

Simple brain tired. Simple brain forgot the first job.

This happen to many brains.

Brains not bad. World is very loud.

Many clever brains make many clever boxes that say:

“Look here now.”

Brain look. That is what brain do.

Simple brain can make good things.

If only simple brain can have one thought long enough to finish it.

Brain needs map

People say focus like lamp.

Lamp on. Lamp off.

Lamp good.

But focus not lamp.

Me think focus like walking in forest.

At first, simple brain not know much.

Where path?

Any river?

Is that tree have bees?

Brain walk for a while.

Soon brain know places.

Brain remember big rock.

Brain remember bad mud.

Brain know strange tree is not actually important, even though tree look suspicious.

Work become clearer.

Not easy. Clear.

Simple brain now have map.

Then loud ding comes.

A summon.

Brain leave forest. Brain look at message. Message says:

“Okay.”

Poof.

Brain back at cave.

Tiny ding have big shadow

Message take five heartbeats to read.

But returning take much longer.

Simple brain open work again.

Eyes see same words.

Brain not see same world.

Brain must rebuild little forest inside head.

What was problem?

Why this code here?

Why me angry at line 47?

What happen next?

Brain walk through forest again.

Find river again.

Find bad mud again.

Find suspicious tree again.

Then maybe brain can work.

This is why day of many tiny jobs can hurt more than day with one big job.

Big job is big rock.

Brain push rock.

Hard.

But simple.

Many tiny jobs are twenty people throwing pebbles at brain.

Each pebble small.

Still not fun.

Remembering is work too

Before hand make things, brain load things.

Word person remember rhythms.

Picture person remember why button go there and not over here.

Meeting person remember what everybody already said.

Not everybody see this.

Still real work.

Sometimes loading take one minute.

Sometimes ten.

Sometimes simple brain spend half hour understanding message written by yesterday brain.

Yesterday brain apparently very clever.

Yesterday brain also leave no notes.

Rude.

If work need big map in head, protect map.

Not forever.

Simple brain still need people.

Simple brain still need messages.

Sometimes message actually important.

But not every tiny ding need become emergency trumpet.

Give brain enough quiet to enter forest.

Give brain enough time to learn path.

Then when possible, let brain stay there for a little while.

Simple brain cannot hold whole world.

Simple brain should not need to.

For now, one forest is enough.