30 ■ FLOW
pressing occupying their minds, most people fall far below the peak
capacity for processing information. In the roughly one-third of the day
that is free of obligations, in their precious “leisure” time, most people
in fact seem to use their minds as little as possible. The largest part of
free time—almost half of it for American adults—is spent in front of the
television set. The plots and characters of the popular shows are so
repetitive that although watching TV requires the processing of visual
images, very little else in the way of memory, thinking, or volition is
required. Not surprisingly, people report some of the lowest levels of
concentration, use of skills, clarity of thought, and feelings of potency
when watching television. The other leisure activities people usually do
at home are only a little more demanding. Reading most newspapers and
magazines, talking to other people, and gazing out the window also
involve processing very little new information, and thus require little
concentration.
So the 185 billion events to be enjoyed over our mortal days might
be either an overestimate or an underestimate. If we consider the
amount of data the brain could theoretically process, the number might
be too low; but if we look at how people actually use their minds, it is
definitely much too high. In any case, an individual can experience only
so much. Therefore, the information we allow into consciousness
becomes extremely important; it is, in fact, what determines the content
and the quality of life.
Attention as Psychic Energy
Information enters consciousness either because we intend to focus
attention on it or as a result of attentional habits based on biological
or social instructions. For instance, driving down the highway, we pass
hundreds of cars without actually being aware of them. Their shape and
color might register for a fraction of a second, and then they are immedi
ately forgotten. But occasionally we notice a particular vehicle, perhaps
because it is swerving unsteadily between lanes, or because it is moving
very slowly, or because of its unusual appearance. The image of the
unusual car enters the focus of consciousness, and we become aware of
it. In the mind the visual information about the car (e.g., “it is swerv
ing”) gets related to information about other errant cars stored in
memory, to determine into which category the present instance fits. Is
this an inexperienced driver, a drunken driver, a momentarily distracted
but competent driver? As soon as the event is matched to an already
known class of events, it is identified. Now it must be evaluated: Is this___