Name: How to Focus Intensely
Uploaded: 2018-02-08T09:20:50.000Z
Duration: 16 min 11 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

In a world that is growing in distraction,
the ability to focus is becoming increasingly

It's a skill that, simultaneously, is becoming
increasingly valuable.

Its demand is rising while its supply is decreasing,
to put it in economic terms.

In this essay, we'll establish a philosophy
for focusing and learn how we can get better

But, before we discuss the tactical advice,
let's construct a thought experiment that

will let us get to the heart of what it actually
means to focus.

Imagine that our company - Robo Inc. - has
built an extremely complex AI that works in

Robo3000 has been programmed to insert a key
into a keyhole, turn it at a specific number

of rotations per minute (RPMs), and produce
as many boxes as it can.

Because our AI is extremely complex and expensive,
it's been programmed to sense any threats

In the event of an emergency, the AI should
leave the building safely so that we can avoid

However, the Robo3000 must also communicate
with the people in the building.

It has to help them with lifting heavy objects,
or in an emergency.

We hope that - in the case of a fire - it
will be able to accurately gauge threat levels,

save as many people as possible, and save
itself.

Our company has also invested in an even more
expensive and complex AI: the Robo5000.

It can update all of our Robo3000's and
make them more efficient.

Because Robo5000's are so expensive, we
only have one.

Furthermore, it can only update one robot
at a time and that process takes several hours.

So, it travels around the building and our
Robo3000's have to interact with the Robo5000

When a Robo3000 goes to interact with the
Robo5000, it leaves its station and doesn't

So, it must be careful not to leave its station
without good reason.

The Robo3000's have to periodically communicate
with the Robo5000 to see if an update is worth

getting; they have to determine whether the
benefits of an update outweigh the loss in

At this point in the thought experiment, I
would like to lay out some definitions.

Consider the action of the AI inserting its
key into the keyhole, producing boxes, and

ignoring all of the environmental stimuli.

Let's call this a state of directed focus.

Directed Focus: Directing attention at a single
thought or action.

Providing an undivided attention while ignoring
environmental stimuli.

The opposite state will be called generalized
focus.

Generalized Focus: Broadly distributed attention.

In a state of generalized focus, our AI will
do things such as analyzing if any one needs

serious help, if there are any imminent threats,
and communicate with the Robo5000 to see if

Clearly, maximizing the amount of time spent
directing focus towards the production of

However, if the Robo3000 stays in a state
of directed focus too long, it might not catch

This could lead to a disaster such as getting
trapped in a burning building.

Clearly, there's a dilemma here; let's
explore this problem further.

How can our AI maximize its production of
boxes while also reacting appropriately to

How does it decide how much time to spend
in a state of directed focus producing boxes

and how much time to spend in a state of generalized
focus analyzing its environment?

How can the AI separate a fire from someone
cooking in the kitchen?

How can the AI separate a trivial request
from an important request?

As the coders, we have to decide what actions
the Robo3000 prioritizes; there has to be

a system for operating and a hierarchy of
priorities.

Here's an example of an operating system:
for every 30 seconds the Robo3000 spends in

a state of directed focus, it must spend 5
seconds in a state of generalized focus.

During this period of generalized focus, the
Robo3000 has to prioritize the stimuli it

detects in its environment and act accordingly.

What if we assigned it a point system based
on actions & priorities.

Helping others with menial tasks - low to
no priority - 20 points

Maximizing box production - medium priority
- 40 points

Helping others with heavy lifting - high priority
- 60 points

Saving its own life - higher priority - 80
points

Saving the lives of others - highest priority
- 100 points

Now, if we code the Robo3000 to maximize the
amount of points it achieves each day, it

It will maximize the production of boxes while
also accomplishing more important tasks.

If the robot does not maximize its points,
that means it has been inaccurate in its ability

to prioritize actions; there is a fault in
its code.

To change our ability to focus, we must - like
the AI - change our code; we have to optimize

However, I would like to borrow some terminology
from the philosophy of hedonism - which we

talked about in the virtual reality video
- for our condition.

Instead of maximizing points, you can think
of humans as maximizing net pleasure.

In this case, pleasure refers to any state
that we would enjoy being in.

The Robo3000 uses focus as a tool to maximize
the amount of points it achieves over its

Likewise, focus is a tool we use to maximize
our pleasure over an entire life.

Like the robot, we do this through an action-priority
system.

You would be correct in thinking that there
is, however, an asymmetry between humans and

For the AI, the actions that would produce
the most pleasure were very clear.

The AI knew exactly what it had to do to maximize
its pleasure.

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How to Focus Intensely

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extremely

prioritize

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