PillarIn progress

Attention

How media, algorithms, and status loops train judgment, and how to verify claims instead of absorbing them.

Thesis

Attention is your scarce focus — and platforms and advertisers compete to capture, measure, and sell it. Literacy here means noticing the incentive (and the scoreboard) before you absorb the claim.

Systems map

How the pieces of this system connect — not a checklist of opinions.

What the feed rewards

What behavior gets you reach on the app you use?

Ad auctions

Your attention is sold in automated auctions (buyers bid for the chance to reach you); outrage and novelty often win.

Social proof

How likes, counts, clips, and ranking make “everyone thinks this” feel true.

Why first frames stick

The first story travels fast; corrections arrive late.

Cost of checking

Who pays to verify, and who profits if you don’t?

Starter sequence

An ordered hop through live material. Not a timed course.

  1. 01

    Trust & Verification

    module

  2. 02

    Time Preference (attention ↔ patience)

    module

  3. 03

    Decision Maps

    tool

Opposing frame

Fair counterview: people choose their apps and content; talk of “attention theft” can sound like talking down to users. For many people, competition and exit — delete the app, mute the feed — still discipline platforms. Ask for evidence of real harm before treating the whole market as a failure.

Agency prompt

Before you share or act on one claim this week, what would count as enough proof — and who benefits if you skip that step?

Available nearby

Modules already tagged with this pillar. Not a curated sequence — just what exists today.

Library touchpoints

Essays and resources tagged to this pillar, when available.

  • Don't Trust, Verify — Jameson Lopp

    A practical guide to running your own Bitcoin node, verifying transactions independently, and why trustless verification is a cornerstone of the Bitcoin ethos.