Today’s reflection, inspired by the Epsilon Theory: Unplugged series so far, is below. Think of this as a pre-meditation to my essay, coming out next week. This is the note that jumped me off to something bigger.

The thing about "attention" is it literally means "a tension" has captured your curiosity.

It could be an external tension like a breaking story you're suddenly worried about. ("The Strait of Hormuz - again?!")

It could be an internal tension like a feeling you forgot to do something you promised to do. ("Did I remember to give the dog his new daily pill?!")

It could be a negative tension. ("The only way to get these numbers right is to cheat.")

It could be a positive tension. ("The muse is telling me exactly what that novel I've been saying I'm going to write for years is all about - let's go!")

In all of the scenarios and variations though, your attention is only being grabbed because there is an open loop, registering in your awareness because it represents a tension, and now you have a choice on what happens next.

Are you going to resolve the tension,

OR

Is the world going to resolve it?

Both are fine.

It's just a matter of agency.

Some of it you can control, some of it you can’t, but you’ll make your own story about it, and that’s what counts.

We can choose, consciously, where our attention is being directed. We can ask if it’s aligned with our agency, and fight so that we don't let anyone else hijack the sensation of tension in our brains to remove our agency - because that is quite literally all we’ve got.

The story exists because the tension exists, so you have to go there. That's the challenge.

Own the story.

It's also been the source of every single issue of Epsilon Theory: Unplugged so far. Every contributor is circling the same open loop from a different angle, in their own register, which is the whole point of running the series with friendly contributors as opposed to staying strictly in-house media style.

Different voices, same tensions. Or, I should say, different voices, unique stories.

And it's almost overwhelming how in the air it is right now.

The attention thoughts. The tension thoughts. The importance of agency and storytelling in our own heads.

I’ll put links to each of them below. You want to click through these. That’s what long weekends are for. Pour some coffee and dive in.

This first round is all about AI and our attention. It’s all about the stories we’re telling ourselves next to this super-technology, that all of us are using in different ways.

And if you’re reading me, I know you’re thinking this too, so come on in and join the conversation.

Catch up below.

Oh hey, HOUSEKEEPING. When my essay comes out, you’re going to get an email from [email protected]. I think if you like my notes, you’ll love what we’re writing on that weekly list, too. But if not, no hard feelings, I get too many emails as well, so just reply and say, “Dude, too much!” and we’ll continue as we were.

Click some links. These are people I’m proud to call friends for the way they share these stories: