Columbus

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(SPEAKING KOREAN)

(SPEAKING KOREAN)

(SPEAKING KOREAN)

(SPEAKING KOREAN)

(SPEAKING KOREAN)

No, we were at the Miller House,

and now we're at the church.

Yeah, it's good.

That's nice.

Yeah, I will.

Yeah, later.

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.

Well... right.

Great.

First Christian is considered...

one of the first modernist

churches in America.

In the United States.

Designed by Eliel Saarinen,

and Christians consider...

Notice how the Cross

and the doors...

and the clock are all

off-center.

This design, Saarinen's design

is asy...

Saarinen's design

is asymmetrical...

yet still remains balanced.

(BELL TOLLS)

Here you go. All right.

There you are. Hey.

Look, marginalia.

Nice. Anything good?

Not sure. Might just be grad

student gibberish.

If you do a database dive,

let me know.

Yeah, of course. What's up?

Wanna catch a film tonight?

I... I can't tonight, sorry.

I'm having dinner with a friend

in Bloomington.

[CASEY]

Like a date?

No, no, it's just an old school

friend.

Mm-hm, whatever.

Do you have your Master's?

Sadly, yes.

Was it hard to get?

Depends on what you mean

by "hard." Why?

I was just talking to Aaron,

and he told me that as a rule...

they only give full-time

positions to MLS grads.

That's not completely true.

Claire doesn't have one.

She doesn't?

She has a Ph.D. in Lit.

Great.

Yeah, whatever you do,

don't get an MLS.

It was recently declared the

worst Master's for a job.

Really?

[GABRIEL]

Yeah.

And yet you have a job.

I'm an exception.

Anyway, you don't want

to be a librarian.

I might.

No, you don't. What about that

Deborah Berke?

You'd be crazy to pass that up.

Yeah, that's not gonna happen.

[GABRIEL]

Why not?

It's just not. You wouldn't

understand.

Yes, I would.

What?

Nothing.

Come on. Let's go see him first.

[ELEANOR] I still can't believe

how old you are.

You look just the same.

- That's not true, but thank you.

- You do.

You're sweet.

[ELEANOR] So how do you like

being back in Seoul?

[JIN]

It's okay.

[ELEANOR]

What are you doing there?

I got a job at a publisher,

translating books into Korean...

from English.

That sounds interesting.

It is... not.

It's pretty painful, actually.

Um, I'm on deadline now. I just

got off the phone with them.

They don't expect you to work

while you're here, do they?

I think they do.

You know, it's that Korean

thing:

"We're so sorry, the family

is the most important thing...

"but really work is the most

important thing...

"so you better finish that

f***ing translation on time."

That can't be true.

We'll see.

I wish you were staying

another day.

I know... but I was supposed

to be in Chicago...

a few days ago with your father.

And I have my work...

my husband.

I know. You've already done

so much.

I can't believe this happened.

[ELEANOR] He was doing fine and

then just... I'm sorry.

I just...

I owe him so much.

Your father means everything

to me.

Is there anything else I can

get you guys?

No, I think we're ready

for the...

Can I get another beer?

Definitely. Another glass of

wine?

No, thanks.

(CELL PHONE RINGS)

(SPEAKING KOREAN)

He didn't even tell me he was

coming on this trip.

Did he tell you that?

No.

That's about right.

Did he mention me at all?

We talked a little.

What did he say?

Jin...

Did he tell you that we haven't

spoken in over a year?

You're all he has.

That has never been the case.

He has his students... his work.

You're his son.

You've been watching too much

Korean drama.

- Here you go.

- Thank you.

Can we have the check?

Sure, I'll be right back.

(SPEAKING KOREAN)

I have to leave so early in the

morning. I should go to bed.

I'm sorry. I shouldn't have

brought that up.

The Inn knows about the

situation.

You should be able to stay in

his room as long as you need.

Sh*t.

(TV PLAYING)

Do you know what you's doing

on Sunday?

No, I'll just drop you off

in the morning...

and then take it over

to Kenny's.

It'll cost us more if it

breaks down on us.

Ugh, I hate cars.

Me, too.

This could use just a...

bit more spice.

[CASEY]

You think it does?

Um, maybe.

I was going for something

a little more subtle.

I don't even know what

that means.

You know, less obvious.

Why?

Because sometimes you can taste

the food better...

and there's a better aftertaste.

You crazy.

- You are.

- (LAUGHS)

This is the Irwin Conference

Center...

formerly the Irwin Union Bank.

It was completed in 1954, and

designed by Eero Saarinen...

son of Eliel Saarinen, who

designed First Christian Church.

Now like the church, banks

in the U.S...

did not look like this in 1954.

They were big, imposing

buildings...

that had tellers behind bars.

No, no, he's not saying

it's an actual myth.

He's just questioning this

common usage...

of "attention span."

Or really this idea of a

shortening attention span.

So he doesn't think that

this is happening?

You're constantly talking

about...

how no one can finish a book

anymore.

Yes, that's exactly the point.

I'm bookish. We're both bookish.

So what he's saying, is that

when we talk about "attention"...

we're biased toward reading.

Like, I had this professor who

used to go on and on...

about the idiocy of video games.

He talked about how his son

would play for hours...

and that he once tried playing

with him...

but found it completely dull

after just a few minutes.

Now, if this was reversed,

if the son was talking...

about how his dad would read

for hours...

and he once tried reading

with him, but found it boring...

after a few minutes, well,

he would accuse the son...

of having a short attention

span, right?

But why don't we accuse

the professor...

of having a short attention

span?

Because it's not about attention

for him. It just seems idiotic.

But what if that's exactly

the case for the son?

See, what he's saying is that

this boy is actually able...

to give hours of attention

to a video game...

because it's interesting to him.

Yeah, but that's because video

games are designed...

for people with short attention

spans.

Yeah, see, that's what bookish

people say.

But no, what this guy is saying

is...

it's not a matter of attention,

but of interest.

The professor doesn't have

patience for the video game...

because he's not interested

in that kind of experience.

In the same way that the son

might not be interested...

in books, and it's not that he

doesn't have the ability...

to pay attention,

clearly he does.

Like the professor, he's able

to pay attention for hours...

if he finds something

interesting.

So, down with books,

long live video games?

No, not at all.

What he's offering is a critique

of a critique.

But in its place, he identifies

a different kind of crisis.

Not the crisis of attention,

but the crisis of interest.

See, to talk about attention is

its own kind of distraction.

Kids pay attention to

things that interest them.

The real question is what

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