The Ability to Focus

from Sizzle and Burn, by Jayne Ann Krentz:

"I thought the appearance of multiple high-level talents in any one individual was supposed to be impossible. ... The experts claim that one talent always becomes dominant." ...
"There is a logical explanation for why one talent is almost always dominant."
"Something to do with overstimulation of the brain, right?"

"The brain is designed to process a vast amount of incoming data supplied by all the senses. It is also engineered to tune out unimportant or unnecessary information coming in from those senses. We call it the ability to focus. But if that ability is overridden, the brain can short-circuit, for want of a better term."
"Information overload."
"[Handling a high-level talent] takes a lot of willpower and self-control. Just imagine what it would be like to deal with two equally powerful talents."

p. 203