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ceba's Shortform

by ceba
7th Sep 2025
1 min read
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This is a special post for quick takes by ceba. Only they can create top-level comments. Comments here also appear on the Quick Takes page and All Posts page.
ceba's Shortform
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2Viliam
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[-]ceba4d10

Seeing dementia up-close has prompted some reflection. I see a person with several deficits, the most striking is that they're unable to perceive salience (what does this mean to me?). No perception is unimportant, everything is relevant. This makes them vulnerable to the modern internet, where websites are ad-funded thus attention-optimised. Unable to see something and think 

"why am I being shown this? should I pay attention to it? hmm, no, not important"

One's ability to perceive [what's being said] alongside [intent behind the action of saying] helps us communicate more effectively with salience-perceptive people. 

People less salience-perceptive are both harder to communicate with, and more vulnerable to manipulation. 

Is this a well-represented trait in LW?

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[-]Viliam2d20

Random thoughts:

Is this like (a stronger version of) ADHD?

I wonder what % of ad sales actually goes to people like this.

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[-]ceba2d10

Working memory deficit (symptom of ADHD) is similar and maybe sufficient. But this isn't necessary: I've seen reduced/differently calibrated salience sense in autistic people as well. 

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