--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: risks that our attention spans will fail…" description: "\"“risks that our attention spans will fail have risen. Studies from Yale, UCLA, Harvard, Berkeley, NASA, the National Institutes of Health, and elsewher..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f5/charles-duhigg-1088_attention-span_risks-that-our-attention-spans-will-fail_2767135.jpg" --- # risks that our attention spans will fail have risen… ![“risks that our attention spans will fail have risen. Studies from Yale, UCLA, Harvard, Berkeley, NASA, the National Institutes of Health, and elsewhere show errors are particularly likely when people are forced to toggle between automaticity and focus, and are unusually dangerous as automatic…” quote by Charles Duhigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f5/charles-duhigg-1088_attention-span_risks-that-our-attention-spans-will-fail_2767135.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f5/charles-duhigg-1088_attention-span_risks-that-our-attention-spans-will-fail_2767135.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f5/charles-duhigg-1088_attention-span_risks-that-our-attention-spans-will-fail_2767135.jpg) > ““risks that our attention spans will fail have risen. Studies from Yale, UCLA, Harvard, Berkeley, NASA, the National Institutes of Health, and elsewhere show errors are particularly likely when people are forced to toggle between automaticity and focus, and are unusually dangerous as automatic systems infiltrate airplanes, cars, and other environments where a misstep can be tragic. In the age of automation, knowing how to manage your focus is more critical than ever before.”” [Charles Duhigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-duhigg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. In modern life, constant switching between automatic and focused thinking raises error risk, especially in automated systems where mistakes can be catastrophic. Managing focus is essential. **In simple terms:** Switching focus often leads to errors, especially with automation. Key Takeaway Prioritize focused attention in critical tasks. Themes attention automation error risk human factors Mood concerned alert serious Type advisory analytical When to use this quote - piloting - driving - industrial control - medical procedures - software monitoring Key Concepts cognitive load automation safety attention management Questions to Reflect On - How can you design workflows to minimize focus switching? - What strategies help maintain attention in high‑risk environments? A Different Perspective Automation can reduce human error but also creates overreliance, making focus lapses more dangerous. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention span](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention-span/) [Attention Spans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention-spans-549688/) [Automaticity Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/automaticity-focus-3214230/) [Dangerous Automatic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous-automatic-3214232/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Manage Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manage-focus-1880646/) [Risks Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/risks-attention-3214231/) ## Related quotes > [You can't manage time, you actually only manage what you do during time. 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Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-pink/) > [Land of snap decisions, land of short attention spans, nothing is savored long enough to really understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/land-of-snap-decisions-land-of-short-attention-spans-nothing-is/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [Now, for my younger viewers out there, a book is something we used to have before the internet. 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Armentrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-l-armentrout/) > [You don’t pay attention man/that’s why your money is the size of your attention span.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-dilla/you-don-t-pay-attention-man-that-s-why-your-money-is-the-size-of-your/) [J Dilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-dilla/) > [I think, first of all, you know, Washington has a bad habit of a very short attention span.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-mccaskill/i-think-first-of-all-you-know-washington-has-a-bad-habit-of-a-very/) [Claire McCaskill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-mccaskill/) [Browse all 298 Attention span quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention-span/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“risks that our attention spans will fail have risen. 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