Introduction : Attention as a cultural problem -- Pt. I. Encountering things -- The jug, the nudge, and local ecology -- Embodied perception -- Virtual reality as moral ideal -- Attention and design -- Autism as a design principle : Gambling -- Interlude : A brief history of freedom -- Pt. II. Other people -- On being led out -- Encountering things with other people -- Achieving individuality -- The culture of performance -- The erotics of attention -- The flattening -- The statistical self -- Pt. III. Inheritance -- The organ makers' shop -- Epilogue : Reclaiming the real.