Limits of Attention

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – More than 40 people gathered at Risen Christ Lutheran on May 31, 2025, to attend a seminar by Dr. Daniel Smilek on “Limits of Attention”. 

Dr. Smilek is a Professor of Psychology who specializes in cognitive neuroscience. His research focuses on understanding human attention and how attention can be optimized in everyday life. He has published more than 180 peer-reviewed research articles along with an undergraduate textbook on cognitive psychology. His research has been published in top scientific journals (e.g., Nature), and according to Google Scholar, his work has been cited over 20,000 times. Dr. Smilek is member of Grace Lutheran Church in Kitchener.

The seminar was broken into three sessions: 

Session 1: The Capture of our Attention and the Experience of Reality. The take-home message was that there are considerable limitations on what we can attend to, yet what we attend to shapes our conscious experience, behaviour, and our understanding of reality.

Session 2: Usurpation of Attention. This session explored how external actors can profoundly influence and control our attention, and how this can manifest in our Christian lives.

Session 3: Attention and Worldview Subversion. This session discussed the history of propaganda and how public opinion is controlled through mass media and other societal “megaphones.” The highlight was the importance of grounding our worldview in Holy Scripture and of sharing the Christian message with those in the world.

Testimonials from those in attendance reflected on the heaviness of the topic but the importance of addressing it, especially within a church setting, and spoke about how engaging and applicable the presentations were. 

Rev. Vishal Paul 

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