I think you’re right about the conscious filtration.

At the Educause Learning Intiaive meeting your lunch partner Alan Kay made a comment that the “job of education was to teach how the mind works and to help individuals become aware of the problems inherent in its ‘natural’ workings”. Minds respond differently depending on the situation, and I think one of the goals for adults in their learning is to become much more aware of the range of styles they can consciously adopt to free them to learn (do, be). Some folks–you and Bryan come immediately to mind–seem to be able to absorb and process a wider range of inputs than lots of other folks. I find that sometimes a period of more conscious filtration can help free energy for passion and serendipity.

The piece on cognitive seduction was outstanding. There are a set of educational objectives for you!

The comments on that blog are just about as interesting as the initial post. I didn’t comment myself–I’ve just started reading that blog–but as is nearly always the case, I feel there are disjunctions lurking just beneath the surface of what seems eminently sensible. The big disjunction for me is that between passion and filtration. I don’t mean focus–I can do that–but filtration, the resolve on a daily basis to direct one’s attention to a limited set of inputs. In my experience, passion tends to overrun those boundaries, and while that’s wearying, it’s also a pretty good way of getting to serendipity and other kinds of unexpected connectedness.

At least I think so. I may simply be indulging in special pleading! At any rate, after the piece on cognitive seduction, the CPU blog went on my must-read list. Can’t remember how I first found it; if it was from you, I’m not surprised but I am grateful.