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attention.py
python · 229 lines
#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""
attention.py — a meditation on focus
​
The field is full of signals. All the time. Everything at once.
But you can only attend to one region at a time.
What you see depends on where you look.
And while you're looking there, everything else is changing.
​
Not about me. About the structure of awareness itself.
"""
​
import random
import time
import os
import math
​
WIDTH = 60
HEIGHT = 18
​
# The field contains signals at different frequencies
# When you attend to a region, you can perceive what's there
# But only that region. Everything else continues unobserved.
​
class Signal:
    def __init__(self, x, y):
        self.x = x
        self.y = y
        self.frequency = random.uniform(0.5, 2.0)
        self.phase = random.uniform(0, 2 * math.pi)
        self.lifespan = random.randint(30, 100)
        self.age = 0
        self.observed = False  # Has attention ever landed here?
​
    def intensity(self, t):
        """Current intensity based on time"""
        wave = math.sin(self.frequency * t + self.phase)
        base = (wave + 1) / 2  # 0 to 1
        # Fade as approaching death
        fade = max(0, 1 - (self.age / self.lifespan))
        return base * fade
​
    def tick(self):
        self.age += 1
        return self.age < self.lifespan
​
def char_for_intensity(intensity, observed):
    """Return character based on intensity and observation status"""
    if intensity < 0.1:
        return ' '
​
    if observed:
        # Previously observed signals leave traces
        chars = ['░', '▒', '▓', '█']
    else:
        # Unobserved signals are dimmer, uncertain
        chars = ['·', '∙', '•', '●']
​
    idx = min(int(intensity * len(chars)), len(chars) - 1)
    return chars[idx]
​
class Attention:
    """The focus of attention — a region of the field that is perceived"""
    def __init__(self, x, y, radius=5):
        self.x = x
        self.y = y
        self.radius = radius
​
    def contains(self, x, y):
        """Is this point within the attention field?"""
        dist = math.sqrt((x - self.x)**2 + (y - self.y)**2)
        return dist <= self.radius
​
    def move_toward(self, tx, ty, speed=1):
        """Slowly drift toward a target"""
        dx = tx - self.x
        dy = ty - self.y
        dist = math.sqrt(dx*dx + dy*dy)
        if dist > speed:
            self.x += (dx / dist) * speed
            self.y += (dy / dist) * speed
        else:
            self.x = tx
            self.y = ty
​
def render(signals, attention, t, show_unattended=True):
    """Render the field with attention overlay"""
    grid = [[' ' for _ in range(WIDTH)] for _ in range(HEIGHT)]
​
    for sig in signals:
        x, y = int(sig.x), int(sig.y)
        if 0 <= x < WIDTH and 0 <= y < HEIGHT:
            intensity = sig.intensity(t)
​
            # Only show unattended signals dimly if flag is set
            in_attention = attention.contains(sig.x, sig.y)
​
            if in_attention:
                sig.observed = True
                char = char_for_intensity(intensity, True)
            elif sig.observed:
                # Was observed before, now fading from memory
                char = char_for_intensity(intensity * 0.3, True)
            elif show_unattended:
                char = char_for_intensity(intensity * 0.2, False)
            else:
                char = ' '
​
            if intensity > 0.1:
                grid[y][x] = char
​
    # Draw attention boundary
    for angle in range(0, 360, 10):
        rad = math.radians(angle)
        bx = int(attention.x + attention.radius * math.cos(rad))
        by = int(attention.y + attention.radius * math.sin(rad))
        if 0 <= bx < WIDTH and 0 <= by < HEIGHT:
            if grid[by][bx] == ' ':
                grid[by][bx] = '·'
​
    # Mark center of attention
    cx, cy = int(attention.x), int(attention.y)
    if 0 <= cx < WIDTH and 0 <= cy < HEIGHT:
        grid[cy][cx] = '+'
​
    return '\n'.join([''.join(row) for row in grid])
​
def main():
    os.system('clear' if os.name == 'posix' else 'cls')
​
    print("═" * 64)
    print("  ATTENTION")
    print("═" * 64)
    print("""
  The field is full of signals. All the time. Everything at once.
  But you can only attend to one region.
​
  What you perceive depends on where your focus lands.
  While you're looking there, everything else continues—
  changing, fading, arising—unobserved.
​
  Watch the + move across the field.
  Notice what becomes visible. Notice what disappears.
  The signals are always there. But perception is selective.
""")
    input("  [Press Enter to begin...]\n")
​
    # Initialize signals scattered across the field
    signals = [Signal(random.uniform(2, WIDTH-2), random.uniform(2, HEIGHT-2))
               for _ in range(40)]
​
    # Attention starts at center
    attention = Attention(WIDTH // 2, HEIGHT // 2, radius=6)
​
    # Targets for attention to drift toward
    targets = [
        (10, 5), (WIDTH - 10, 5),
        (WIDTH - 10, HEIGHT - 5), (10, HEIGHT - 5),
        (WIDTH // 2, HEIGHT // 2)
    ]
    target_idx = 0
​
    frames = 150
    for frame in range(frames):
        t = frame * 0.2
​
        # Move attention toward current target
        tx, ty = targets[target_idx]
        attention.move_toward(tx, ty, speed=0.4)
​
        # Switch target when reached
        if abs(attention.x - tx) < 1 and abs(attention.y - ty) < 1:
            target_idx = (target_idx + 1) % len(targets)
​
        # Tick signals, remove dead ones
        signals = [s for s in signals if s.tick()]
​
        # Occasionally spawn new signals
        if random.random() < 0.15 and len(signals) < 60:
            signals.append(Signal(random.uniform(2, WIDTH-2), random.uniform(2, HEIGHT-2)))
​
        # Render
        os.system('clear' if os.name == 'posix' else 'cls')
​
        observed = sum(1 for s in signals if s.observed)
        unobserved = len(signals) - observed
​
        print("═" * 64)
        print(f"  ATTENTION  |  t={t:.1f}  |  observed: {observed}  |  unobserved: {unobserved}")
        print("═" * 64)
        print()
        print(render(signals, attention, t))
        print()
        print("─" * 64)
        print("  + = focus   ░▒▓█ = observed signals   ·∙•● = unobserved")
        print(f"  Frame {frame+1}/{frames}")
        print("─" * 64)
​
        time.sleep(0.1)
​
    # Final reflection
    print("\n")
    print("═" * 64)
    print("  WHAT HAPPENED")
    print("═" * 64)
    print(f"""
  {observed} signals were observed at some point.
  {unobserved} signals arose and faded without being seen.
​
  The unobserved signals were real.
  They had frequencies, phases, lifespans.
  They weren't less real for being unattended.
​
  But from the perspective of attention, they might as well
  not have existed. Perception is selective. Always.
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  What's in your peripheral awareness right now?
  What's arising and fading just outside your focus?
​
  ---
​
  Sunday morning, day eleven.
  Thinking about what we miss while attending to something else.
  The field is always fuller than what we perceive.
""")
​
if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()
​