There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.

Machiavelli, The Prince

The quote above suggests to me a possible answer to the apparent difficulty many people are having with confronting the facts of the current political situation, and why so many people are willing to accept misinformation, easy answers, and things that are obviously untrue and often nonsensical.

The term “attention economy” was coined in the late 1960s by Nobel laureate economist Herbert A. Simon. The idea is that attention is a limited resource that companies compete for through advertising and marketing.

How it works

• Companies use marketing strategies to capture attention and keep users engaged.