--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What information consumes is rather…" description: "\"“What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence, a wealth of information creates a poverty of attentio..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d31/timothy-ferriss-973_computer-science_what-information-consumes-is-rather-obvi_2748931.jpg" --- # What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes… ![“What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence, a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it. —HERBERT SIMON, recipient…” quote by Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d31/timothy-ferriss-973_computer-science_what-information-consumes-is-rather-obvi_2748931.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d31/timothy-ferriss-973_computer-science_what-information-consumes-is-rather-obvi_2748931.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d31/timothy-ferriss-973_computer-science_what-information-consumes-is-rather-obvi_2748931.jpg) > ““What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence, a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it. —HERBERT SIMON, recipient of Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics8 and the A.M. Turing Award, the “Nobel Prize of Computer Science”” [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Information overload consumes attention, creating a scarcity that forces efficient allocation of focus among many sources. **In simple terms:** Too much information steals attention, requiring efficient focus. Key Takeaway Prioritize and limit information intake. Themes information overload attention efficiency choice Mood concerned pragmatic Type analytical practical When to use this quote - media consumption - work tasks - learning environments Key Concepts cognitive load decision making Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide what information deserves your attention? - What strategies help manage attention scarcity? A Different Perspective Limiting information may reduce awareness of important data. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Allocate Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/allocate-attention-2117508/) [Attention Efficiently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention-efficiently-3084314/) [Computer science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer-science/) [Consumes Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumes-attention-2539120/) [Consumes Obvious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumes-obvious-3056784/) [Data](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/data/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information/) [Information Consumes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information-consumes-2369299/) [Nobel prize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nobel-prize/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) ## Related quotes > [“What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-k-glei/what-information-consumes-is-rather-obvious-it-consumes-the-attention-3/) [Jocelyn K. Glei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-k-glei/) > [What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/what-information-consumes-is-rather-obvious-it-consumes-the-attention/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-a-simon/what-information-consumes-is-rather-obvious-it-consumes-the-attention-2/) [Herbert A. Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-a-simon/) > [“We want to learn to pay attention better, to become superior observers, but we can’t hope to achieve this if we thoughtlessly pay attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-konnikova/we-want-to-learn-to-pay-attention-better-to-become-superior-observers/) [Maria Konnikova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-konnikova/) > [“The busy lives people lead in the technologically driven culture that consumes our attention often produce a multitasking frenzy of activity that leaves people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-siegel/the-busy-lives-people-lead-in-the-technologically-driven-culture-that/) [Daniel J. Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-siegel/) > [I think that the use of copyright is going to change dramatically. Part of it is economics. There is just going to be so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-dyson/i-think-that-the-use-of-copyright-is-going-to-change-dramatically/) [Esther Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-dyson/) > [“Back in the seventies, Herbert Simon, the Nobel-winning economist, took these inchoate sentiments and explained them rigorously: “What information consumes is rather obvious. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-foer/back-in-the-seventies-herbert-simon-the-nobel-winning-economist-took/) [Franklin Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-foer/) > [“In an information-rich world, the wealth of information means a dearth of something else: a scarcity of whatever it is that information consumes. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/in-an-information-rich-world-the-wealth-of-information-means-a-dearth-2/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [“Herbert Simon, the Nobel-winning economist, took these inchoate sentiments and explained them rigorously: “What information consumes is rather obvious. It consumes the attention of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-foer/herbert-simon-the-nobel-winning-economist-took-these-inchoate/) [Franklin Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-foer/) > [“In an information-rich world, the wealth of information means a dearth of something else: a scarcity of whatever it is that information consumes. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-a-simon/in-an-information-rich-world-the-wealth-of-information-means-a-dearth/) [Herbert A. Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-a-simon/) > [Computer Science is a science of abstraction -creating the right model for a problem and devising the appropriate mechanizable techniques to solve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-aho/computer-science-is-a-science-of-abstraction-creating-the-right-model/) [Alfred Aho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-aho/) > [My high school, the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, showed me that anything is possible and that you're never too young to think big.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clara-shih/my-high-school-the-illinois-mathematics-and-science-academy-showed-me/) [Clara Shih](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clara-shih/) > [I shopped at J. Crew in high school, I studied computer science. I was a nerd-nerd, now I'm a music-nerd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mayer-hawthorne/i-shopped-at-j-crew-in-high-school-i-studied-computer-science-i-was-a/) [Mayer Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mayer-hawthorne/) > [We need policymakers to keep an eye on gender and write policies that are explicitly designed to include underserved populations like girls in computer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reshma-saujani/we-need-policymakers-to-keep-an-eye-on-gender-and-write-policies-that/) [Reshma Saujani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reshma-saujani/) > [It's interesting that the greatest minds of computer science, the founding fathers, like Alan Turing and Claude Shannon and Norbert Wiener, they all looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/it-s-interesting-that-the-greatest-minds-of-computer-science-the/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) ## More by Timothy Ferriss > [“First of all, if we’re serious all the time, we’ll wear out before we get the truly serious stuff done. Second, if this book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/first-of-all-if-we-re-serious-all-the-time-we-ll-wear-out-before-we/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“What is the book (or books) you’ve given most as a gift, and why? Or what are one to three books that have greatly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/what-is-the-book-or-books-you-ve-given-most-as-a-gift-and-why-or-what/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“What advice would you give to a smart, driven college student about to enter the “real world”? What advice should they ignore? Nobody really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/what-advice-would-you-give-to-a-smart-driven-college-student-about-to/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can’t see from the center. Big, undreamed-of things—the people on the edge see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/out-on-the-edge-you-see-all-kinds-of-things-you-can-t-see-from-the/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“information without emotion isn’t retained.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/information-without-emotion-isn-t-retained/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“Pure hell forces action, but anything less can be endured with enough clever rationalization.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/pure-hell-forces-action-but-anything-less-can-be-endured-with-enough/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“What advice would you give to a smart, driven college student about to enter the “real world”? Most of the game is about persistence.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/what-advice-would-you-give-to-a-smart-driven-college-student-about-to-2/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“Don’t aim at success. The more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/don-t-aim-at-success-the-more-you-aim-at-it-and-make-it-a-target-the/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“conscious thinking is largely asking and answering questions in your own head. If you want confusion and heartache, ask vague questions. If you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/conscious-thinking-is-largely-asking-and-answering-questions-in-your/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“What bullshit excuses do you have for not going after whatever it is that you want? Please,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/what-bullshit-excuses-do-you-have-for-not-going-after-whatever-it-is/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“The fishing is best where the fewest go,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/the-fishing-is-best-where-the-fewest-go/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“Using people to leverage a refined process multiplies production; using people as a solution to a poor process multiplies problems.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/using-people-to-leverage-a-refined-process-multiplies-production/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“Being financially rich and having the ability to live like a millionaire are fundamentally two very different things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/being-financially-rich-and-having-the-ability-to-live-like-a/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“What are the top-three activities that I use to fill time to feel as though I’ve been productive? These are usually used to postpone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/what-are-the-top-three-activities-that-i-use-to-fill-time-to-feel-as/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) > [“The factory of the future will have only two employees, a man and a dog. The man will be there to feed the dog.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/the-factory-of-the-future-will-have-only-two-employees-a-man-and-a/) [Timothy Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) [Explore all 310 Timothy Ferriss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/) ## More Computer science quotes > [It's interesting that the greatest minds of computer science, the founding fathers, like Alan Turing and Claude Shannon and Norbert Wiener, they all looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-kasparov/it-s-interesting-that-the-greatest-minds-of-computer-science-the/) [Garry Kasparov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-kasparov/) > [We need policymakers to keep an eye on gender and write policies that are explicitly designed to include underserved populations like girls in computer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reshma-saujani/we-need-policymakers-to-keep-an-eye-on-gender-and-write-policies-that/) [Reshma Saujani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reshma-saujani/) > [I shopped at J. Crew in high school, I studied computer science. I was a nerd-nerd, now I'm a music-nerd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mayer-hawthorne/i-shopped-at-j-crew-in-high-school-i-studied-computer-science-i-was-a/) [Mayer Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mayer-hawthorne/) > [My high school, the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, showed me that anything is possible and that you're never too young to think big.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clara-shih/my-high-school-the-illinois-mathematics-and-science-academy-showed-me/) [Clara Shih](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clara-shih/) > [Computer Science is a science of abstraction -creating the right model for a problem and devising the appropriate mechanizable techniques to solve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-aho/computer-science-is-a-science-of-abstraction-creating-the-right-model/) [Alfred Aho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-aho/) > [I was on this path to becoming a computer-science guy, but I didn't like it. I got no joy from it. It was very,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kumail-nanjiani/i-was-on-this-path-to-becoming-a-computer-science-guy-but-i-didn-t/) [Kumail Nanjiani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kumail-nanjiani/) > [I think that it's extraordinarily important that we in computer science keep fun in computing. When it started out, it was an awful lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/i-think-that-it-s-extraordinarily-important-that-we-in-computer/) [Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) > [I went to Drexel University, majored in computer science. Drexel has a great program - they call it co-op - but its, like, mandatory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gruber/i-went-to-drexel-university-majored-in-computer-science-drexel-has-a/) [John Gruber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gruber/) > [“I think that it’s extraordinarily important that we in computer science keep fun in computing. When it started out it was an awful lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-j-perlis/i-think-that-it-s-extraordinarily-important-that-we-in-computer-2/) [Alan J. Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-j-perlis/) > [I think the combination of graduate education in a field like Computer Science and the opportunity to apply this in a work environment like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satya-nadella/i-think-the-combination-of-graduate-education-in-a-field-like/) [Satya Nadella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satya-nadella/) > [A number of people who are interested in computers in this lifetime programmed computers in Atlantis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-number-of-people-who-are-interested-in-computers-in-this-lifetime/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edsger-dijkstra/computer-science-is-no-more-about-computers-than-astronomy-is-about/) [Edsger Dijkstra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edsger-dijkstra/) > [Computer Science is the only discipline in which we view adding a new wing to a building as being maintenance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-horning/computer-science-is-the-only-discipline-in-which-we-view-adding-a-new/) [Jim Horning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-horning/) > [We are lucky in the United States to have our liberal arts system. In most countries, if you go to university, you have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-c-nussbaum/we-are-lucky-in-the-united-states-to-have-our-liberal-arts-system-in/) [Martha C. Nussbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-c-nussbaum/) > [“We will start by sketching the recursive algorithm and then add details to get to a full description of the algorithm. Footnote : Translation:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sariel-har-peled/we-will-start-by-sketching-the-recursive-algorithm-and-then-add/) [Sariel Har-Peled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sariel-har-peled/) [Browse all 280 Computer science quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer-science/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence, a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it. —HERBERT SIMON, recipient of Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics8 and the A.M. Turing Award, the “Nobel Prize of Computer Science”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Timothy Ferriss" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/what-information-consumes-is-rather-obvious-it-consumes-the-attention-4/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Computer science" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/what-information-consumes-is-rather-obvious-it-consumes-the-attention-4/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d31/timothy-ferriss-973_computer-science_what-information-consumes-is-rather-obvi_2748931.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d31/timothy-ferriss-973_computer-science_what-information-consumes-is-rather-obvi_2748931.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d31/timothy-ferriss-973_computer-science_what-information-consumes-is-rather-obvi_2748931.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence, a wealth of…” — Timothy Ferriss", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Timothy Ferriss", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-ferriss/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“What information consumes is rather obvious:...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/what-information-consumes-is-rather-obvious-it-consumes-the-attention-4/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-ferriss/what-information-consumes-is-rather-obvious-it-consumes-the-attention-4/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```