This is an interesting point. I had to sit with it for a few minutes. I realize I use the word focus in two ways in my essay. One is as a synonym to exploit; the other, in the title that quotes Altman, as "paying more attention to what you pay attention to / spend your time on". It is the latter that you refer to as fortune cookie shaped. It is true to an extent since it is a very abstract and general point, and exactly what is the right thing to do when deciding how to allocate your time will depend so much on context. And MAB is one approach to that, but there are myriads of other considerations, such as your notes on focus as letting things come into focus. But if we go with the definition of "focus" as more meta-reflection on priorities, it is not always the right thing to do; sometimes you need to execute. It is just rare for people to spend the optimal amount of time in a state that improves their decisions as to what to excute. So most people feel seen by that claim.
Thank you so much for responding! This experiment is already worthwhile. And yes, you're right — that duality in meaning for focus is probably a more precise way to articulate the phenomena I was trying to describe.
I do wonder though what would happen if we wrote the same articles but couldn't use the word "focus." We could talk about the process people should use to find what to prioritize, for example. My hunch is that it would be easier for people to understand, but would resonate less with the emotional baggage we have with allocating our attention.
And hopefully this was clear, I'm not passing judgement one way or another. Both have merits!
It is interesting to think of the emotional valor of these words. And also how the differ between countries! Priorities makes me think of school master disciplining in the 1940s.
This is an interesting point. I had to sit with it for a few minutes. I realize I use the word focus in two ways in my essay. One is as a synonym to exploit; the other, in the title that quotes Altman, as "paying more attention to what you pay attention to / spend your time on". It is the latter that you refer to as fortune cookie shaped. It is true to an extent since it is a very abstract and general point, and exactly what is the right thing to do when deciding how to allocate your time will depend so much on context. And MAB is one approach to that, but there are myriads of other considerations, such as your notes on focus as letting things come into focus. But if we go with the definition of "focus" as more meta-reflection on priorities, it is not always the right thing to do; sometimes you need to execute. It is just rare for people to spend the optimal amount of time in a state that improves their decisions as to what to excute. So most people feel seen by that claim.
Thank you so much for responding! This experiment is already worthwhile. And yes, you're right — that duality in meaning for focus is probably a more precise way to articulate the phenomena I was trying to describe.
I do wonder though what would happen if we wrote the same articles but couldn't use the word "focus." We could talk about the process people should use to find what to prioritize, for example. My hunch is that it would be easier for people to understand, but would resonate less with the emotional baggage we have with allocating our attention.
And hopefully this was clear, I'm not passing judgement one way or another. Both have merits!
It is interesting to think of the emotional valor of these words. And also how the differ between countries! Priorities makes me think of school master disciplining in the 1940s.