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Stand Out of Our Light

James Williams

“The main risk information abundance poses is not that one’s attention will be occupied or used up by information, as though it were some finite, quantifiable resource, but rather that one will lose control over one’s attentional processes. In other words, the problems in Tetris arise not when you stack a brick in the wrong place (though this can contribute to problems down the line), but rather when you lose control of the ability to direct, rotate, and stack the bricks altogether.”

—James Williams, Stand Out of Our Light


the place where we once had a picnic
is now underwater

that one thick branch
of the shade tree
is now hovering
over the rippling surface

its trunk submerged—
holding its breath
for us

Last updated: August 8, 2023