Act Casual: Privacy In Public

For those that live in metropolitan areas it is not hard to imagine a crowded bus, subway, or city street. In these areas of crowding our minds do what they always do. Filter. During this filter process we seek only to acknowledge what our subconscious deems relevant to bring into our consciousness. While we are filtering so many faces out of our minds we can often find ourselves standing in a crowded space with no one paying attention to us. Perhaps they all have their heads down in their phones or books, or simply focused on their own direction of travel.

In these cases we slip through the cracks of attention and live in the dead zone of absence. All it takes is for the rest of the world to be focused elsewhere for us to have a few moments to ourselves. We become the tree falling in the woods. There is no difference between no one being in the woods to hear the sound or no one paying attention to the noise it makes. Attention and perspective are what form our reality. We are literally able to disappear.

This use of redirection of attention is the same thing a magician uses to distract us while he prepares his trick and then poof he is gone. We are now reaching a social state where we are constantly bombarded with external signals that keep us from scanning our surroundings. Being aware means having our attention attacked at all times. So this means we direct our focus more acutely to things that are significant to us.

While others are caught in this stage we can find ways to perform tasks out in the open, not because we are covered from the eye, but because we attract no attention. This is the nature of spies as well. To blend in so well with the environment that our motions seem normal or uninteresting.

With the new world of hyper surveillance upon us we may find that there is never a moment when we are not within view of eyesight. Instead we may find that though in view we are not the focus of the attention of the viewer. When hiding becomes impossible we must consider that it may not be worth attempting and instead. Carry one with our own business as usual… act casual as they say.