quite long before transistors raised the input of impressions n orders/magnitude at er, Ludicrous speed:

Our consciousness was already spending vastly more of the brain's computing power in instant-rejection of most stimuli -- than on whatever we (thought we) were 'paying attention' to (never mind.. the case with the <1%? who might ever have learned how to pay Attention.)

It's All Hype; remember (?) language was invented that men may disguise their thoughts from each other. So, for this: they get Grants?

(All of which begs the question of whether a one can train the jelloware to handle >>'40' current events -- Test Pilot, anyone?) The hippocampus: don't leave /Home without switching it On :-)



PS somewhat akin:

An academic discussing our 'unconscious decision' process; seeking the/any innate source of moral choices.

Scenario:

Is it OK to kill one person - to save 5?

A) If you pull a lever - the one dies; the others are saved.
~90% said: Yes. Do it.

B) You are on an overpass and a train is coming. If.. you push the one person by you off, in front of approaching train - it will stop, in time to avoid death of the 5.
~90% said: Noooo! Don't.
[The option: should you jump, yourself? - somehow.. didn't seem to come up in this experimenter's mentatiom... wonder why.]

Love. It. - most of the time we do not have the foggiest Why/How! we 'make decisions' - 'course today we have Shrub-duh-Decider to underscore the correctness of this hypothesis, for any skeptics.

In the chosen (maybe not so great) simile, 'A' was a simple lever to pull == then someone dies.

In 'B' (less mechanically abstract) - you had seconds to somehow 'stop the train' (maybe there was a hand-cart down the track with workers aboard? == whatever.)

Both anent Spocks's 'sacrifice of the one to save the many'
(whichever ST movie wherein Spock pulls the top off the Pure Neutronium Generator and gets blasted with 50,000 REM [or REV - for Vulcans?]: dies.) Until Genesis sequel.

ie in B: just suppose that someone had to be tossed off the overpass, as the only available means of fershure getting engineer's attention.




{sigh} too many notes words VS the audio version..

Recall? students were directed to 'shock' (other students) for (whatever manufactured infraction.) While the victims were simulating agony - the victimizers Did Not Know that ... as they nudged the VOLTAGE knob higher. Lord/Flies R'Us.

And it seems that, all the new toys - especially the multitudes of Killing Games/pix, repeated incessantly in young impressionable/bored minds - are not
{\ufffdSurprise!}
producing fewer Attilas: just more innovative wanna-bes.