British psychologists report that those who live in cities have a certain diminished power of attention compared with those who don’t:
[T]he brains of people in remote places seem ready to focus on the task at hand, while the brains of their urban counterparts seem prepared to explore the ever-changing conditions of city life. Certainly explains why some country folk find the city overwhelming, and some city folk find the country a little dull. Nothing personal — strictly neural.
And:
[C]ity dwellers have developed a form of attention that puts priority on “the search for potential dangers or new opportunities.”
Or perhaps city dwellers are simply trying to be comfortable.
