The Science of Focus

In this course, you learn what happens in the brain when a person begins to focus on something, and the parts of the brain that “light up” when focus wanes or the attention is commanded by a stimulus in the external environment. Fulltime focus, with no breaks to be unfocused, is neither possible nor adaptive, so the course examines the different types of daydreaming and the network in the brain that governs off-task time. You learn about the different types of attention, and delve into the flow state as a special type of attention. Sadly, the collective attention span is shorter than it used to be, so you read about the multiple factors at a society-wide level which have greatly diminished our collective capacity to focus. The final chapter outlines techniques and practices which can restore focus.