Attention is a strange commodity: it’s in short supply but available freely. Which could be the reason why we don’t read the whole damn thing anymore. The most common refrain being, “I don’t have the time…” TLDR, excusez moi. As a consequence, we tend to create our own context from a given context. For example, if you were to read these lines from Oprah Winfrey — “Don’t let the expectations and opinions of other people affect your decisions. It’s your life, not theirs. Do what matters most to you; do what makes you feel alive and happy.” — what would be your initial reaction? Perhaps you’d be inspired to go for those things you believe are rightly yours. Imagine a psychopathic killer reading these lines and getting the boost he needs. Of course, that’d be an extreme case but the point is, to understand Winfrey’s thoughts, you’ll have to read the whole paragraph and not just these three flowery sentences. She also talks about the challenges and hard work required to achieve one’s dreams.