the simple reason that your eyes and attention will pick up an alternating light/beam faster and at a greater distance than a steady one
That is not the case. You and many others might consider this obvious or "common sense", but it is not borne out by rigorous research on the matter.
VRUs (vulnerable road users -- motorcyclists, bicyclists, pedestrians) face real and legitimate extra danger on the road compared to occupants of cars, trucks, buses, etc. So VRUs come up with many ideas they're sure will help. Flashing (pulsing, blinking, "modulating") headlamps and brake lights, many different kinds and colors of add-on lights, etc. There is no science or factual basis behind the overwhelming majority of these ideas, yet they get picked up and passed along among clubs and advocacy groups, who in turn lobby to get them written into the relevant codes and regulations, then marketers come along and point to the code and say "SEE! It's even in the codes and regulations!". It's an echo-chamber feedback loop. The trouble, again, is that these ideas
do not work. They do not reduce the likelihood of a VRU being hit in traffic, and no amount of "I can tell cars totally don't pull out in front of me any more ever since I started using it" types of stories change that. In fact, these kinds of "common sense" ideas often make things worse: they reduce safety (or at best don't improve it), yet they make the VRU feel safer, and so their behavior changes. Not necessarily on purpose, not necessarily "I don't have to be as careful because I have my [whatever lighting gadget or configuration]", this kind of risk homeostasis/compensation is an unfortunate part of how the human mind works, without our conscious input on the matter.
As for that claim about a "simple reason": No. None of this is simple. Human perception and
effective human perception are very complex. Many aspects of whether and how quickly and accurately we see, identify, and recognize something are
ferociously complicated and counterintuitive to say the least.
Back to the subject at hand: the blinking lights were originally put on the market as a sort of band-aid over the fact that they couldn't put out a lot of light. Now we have extremely powerful and efficient LEDs and associated optics, so that band-aid is no longer necessary or helpful. A blinking front white bicycle light is fine if you feel you must have one,
if it is right next to a steady-burning white light of at least equal intensity. You really need the steady-burning light, front and rear, so drivers can quickly and accurately attain and keep track of your position relative to theirs. A blinking light without a steady light severely degrades the speed and accuracy at which a moving driver can and will attain and keep track of you.
In the rear, a blinking light is not a wise idea -- not now that we have some really good bicycle rear lights with automatic brake light and tail light capability. That's what to get, to provide the most detailed status report in real time to those you're on the road with, so they have the best possible, clearest possible information to avoid hitting you. Don't muddy the message with an unnecessary, unhelpful blinking light back there.
Finally: remember the side view (amber light shining left and right, preferably at the front and back of the bike) and the reflectors: white front, red rear, and make sure to use the tires that have a built-in retroreflective sidewall stripe.