Idle musings

    It is a sign of the times that I cannot imagine researching without the Web. On Twitter, I saw this link http://www.statisticbrain.com/attention-span-statistics/ which says that our average attention span in 2013 was 8 seconds. In 2000, the attention span was 12 seconds. The web site indicates that attention span is is the amount of concentrated time on a task without becoming distracted. When I searched for the source of the information, I was unable to locate it in the website of National Center for Biotechnology Information, which the link quotes as a reference. However, I did find a lot of web pages using this information.     Is our attention span just 8 seconds ? Let me see : 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 ! By now, the average human being has lost interest, if there is nothing enticing. So if you are still reading this blog of mine, you are not (in a sense !) normal ! The infographic at http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/infographic-shrinking-attention-span-n110801 shows how