We care about things not based on their impact but their surprise.

· Bits and Bobs 5/18/26
  • We care about things not based on their impact but their surprise.
    • That means that an existential but slow-moving thing doesn't get us to pay attention.
    • It's only the discontinuities that create enough surprise to perhaps snap everyone into a new coordination equilibrium.
    • That's why we can get run over by a slow-moving steamroller.
      • Like that guard in Austin Powers.
    • Sometimes referred to as the boiling frog.
    • This problem gets much, much worse in a cacophonous environment.
    • We pay attention to the loudest, not the most important.

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