Rewild the Wandering Mind, 2023
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
“As much as we nowadays feel our attention is being stolen by algorithms, distraction and inattention are inherently human and defined us long before the arrival of contemporary technologies and social media. Distraction is often praised in relation to creativity and the wandering mind, but from the 17th century on, distraction and inattention became labeled as a sickness that had to be corrected through therapy, discipline, and medication. Today we believe that the distractible kid is doing better when he or she sits still, that ADHD is a sickness, and there exists such a thing as a human attention span. Through snippets of writings and quotes, this simple website/screen saver explores how attention evolved into a moralising and disciplinary force and as a mechanism for social control.”
– Femke Herregraven