Conserved Attention Theory: From Physical Constraints to Social Emergence

Attention is notoriously definitionally fragmented, which results in downstream confusion in applied theory. In this paper, I introduce Conserved Attention Theory (CAT), in which attention is defined as the per-actor, per-instant allocation of bounded processing resources, idealized as fully allocated and zero-sum. Allocations leave physical traces (artifacts) in actors and external environments that bias future allocation in a feedback loop. Attention space is an actor’s individually-instantiated associative topology across potential allocation biases, both internal and external. I demonstrate that the convergence of overlapping attention spaces is sufficient for social patterns and behavior to emerge without the requirement of a separate ontological social layer. I show that attention spaces and emergent social consequences remain subject to thermodynamics and entropy. This framework provides a physically grounded approach to reframe social phenomena like social polarization in physical terms rather than as rational or moral failures.