There’s a story about Isaac Newton. I don’t know if it’s true and I have no inclination to find out if it is or not because I like the story.
Newton had invited guests for dinner. His housekeeper came to his study and suggested he might want to go upstairs to dress dinner before his guests arrived. He went upstairs and sat down at the end of his bed to take his shoes off. While untying his shoes he was struck by a thought. He sat there for a long time, immobile, considering the implications of the idea that had overcome him.
A while later he let the thought go, and couldn’t remember why he’d come to his room. He noticed that he’d untied one of his shoes and assumed that he’d come upstairs to go to bed. As the story goes, he put on his pyjamas, went to bed and fell asleep.
I like the story because it talks to Isaac’s focus, his ability to sit still and think and be absorbed by his thoughts. We are losing our ability and tolerance to just sit and think. Technology focuses more and more on distraction and delivering answers, taking the discomfort of boredom and thinking away from us.
Evolution gifted humans opposable thumbs and oversized brains. I don’t believe the intent was to use these for scrolling and dopamine dispensing.