Weakest Link
n. in attentional hierarchy, the attentional variable that is willfully dismissed.
In automobile design, the designer/engineer chooses which part of the car to make weak as a safety feature. The decision is made by the designer in advance of the actor experience. In the temporal environment, one must recognize that the actor shares in the role of designer. There is a designer who makes plans in advance, but there is also an actor/designer who can, in the moment, decide to prioritize and re-prioritize the many levels of experience in the moment, choosing to make one level the weakest link over another. Like the crumple zone of an automobile, the skilled actor can render some attentions expendable, allowing them to crumple in exchange for other attentions deemed more valuable. While the novice actor will default to weakest links in predictable patterns of attention, an advanced actor knows their range–vision, has more flexibility within the interaction, and can direct the engagement to transformative ends.
See Attentional Hierarchy, Range–Vision, Willful performance