THE RHYTHMS OF ATTENTION.--Attention works in rhythms. This is to say
that it never maintains a constant level of concentration for any
considerable length of time, but regularly ebbs and flows. The
explanation of this rhythmic action would take us too far afield at this
point. When we remember, however, that our entire organism works within
a great system of rhythms--hunger, thirst, sleep, fatigue, and many
others--it is easy to see that the same law may apply to attention. The
rhythms of attention vary greatly, the fluctuations often being only a
few seconds apart for certain simple sensations, and probably a much
greater distance apart for the more complex process of thinking. The
seeming variation in the sound of a distant waterfall, now loud and now
faint, is caused by the rhythm of attention and easily allows us to
measure the rhythm for this particular sensation.
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