“Looking at art forces you to slow your thinking. Slowly analyzing the facts. Giving your brain enough time to see everything.”
– Amy Herman
A lesson in Intellectual and Social Wellness
As an Amazon Affiliate it is policy to inform you that this is an advertisement. However, this is still a reflection of a great book that I’ve read many times over. I believe it would benefit any who may read it. You can find the link for it in my references located at the bottom of this page.
Visual intelligence
In her book, Visual Intelligence, Amy Herman describes the process of her course she named “The Art of Perception.” In this course, she uses modern as well as classical art to train the sight. Her work has helped to make improvements in the medical field, law enforcement, special forces, and other critical fields of work.
I haven’t had the pleasure of attending one of these seminars myself, but I’ve been applying the steps in her book to my life, gradually, over the past few months. I’ve noticed drastic changes in my deduction skills. I can see opportunities better. I can avoid danger better. It’s not every day you find a powerful, practical guide to an all-important skill that makes life in general better.
Instead of paintings, I will briefly dissect a popular piece of fiction to reflect what I’ve learned from this book. If it intrigues you, I suggest clicking the “Visual Intelligence” link below and purchasing a copy so that you may receive the legitimate lesson…
Sight and how it works
In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s books, he always speaks of the difference between seeing and observing. Sherlock shows how observing is actually recording the data you see in contrast to sight. He makes it sound easy enough. “It’s elementary, my dear Watson.” he would always say. The fact that it’s anything but easy is what makes Sherlock so entertaining. The way he sees things no one else does. How? What is sight?
Sight first off is not a function of the eyes. It is a function of the brain. A defective brain can have vivid hallucinations. Your dreams can be super detailed, but your eyes are closed the entire time. Proof enough? Your sight, along with all of your senses, are functions of the brain to help you learn more effectively. And your sight can be trained just like other functions of your brain.
So, if sight is a passive learning function of the brain, then observing is the active thinking function of the brain. Thinking with your senses. That is what observation is. Using your senses to think instead of solely to learn. The smartest people are always learning closely. Sherlock is always thinking critically. That’s what makes him so interesting. Because it’s impossible. We can’t always think critically. Even professional investigators miss key details sometimes. Most of us are never actually taught how to think; most are only taught an ineffective way to learn at best.
Everything is so quick now. Everyone expects their package the next day. Everyone wants a shortcut to something. If someone can’t do something quickly, then it’s considered hard. Critical analysis is never done quickly. Knowledge can be gained quickly, however. Knowledge coming quickly is commonly mistaken for competence. You miss things that should be obvious when you rush. You miss experience when you take shortcuts. Like driving, if you go too fast, you’ll end up crashing into something or missing your turn; causing avoidable damage at worst or wasting valuable time at best. This need for speed and competence creates a global issue. This age of speed has created an age of blindness.
How to improve your sight.
Again, it is impossible to be like Sherlock, but it isn’t the worst thing in the world to try. And there is a way to slowly develop your deductive reasoning skills. You should pay a visit to your local museum. Look at some timeless art. There is no need to rush your conclusions when analyzing artwork. Take the time to analyze your own thoughts as well. What type of words are you using to describe what you look at. Are they emotionally charged and subjective? Or are they logically objective? Whenever you catch yourself using subjective language, look for a better substitute objective word. I’m not saying not to feel emotion; just to take them out of your language.
Using proper objective words will train your brain to think; or rather to observe. Objective language maintains the thin line between emotion and logic. When jumping to a conclusion, make sure you can articulate it without using subjective words. That will keep you from offending anyone or embarrassing yourself. In other words, slow your thoughts down. Subjective language accelerates thought. Watch your words. Watch the words of others as well. When you hear subjective speak, try translating it objectively.
Have a “double checker”
Another lesson we can learn from Sherlock is that he never does his best work alone. Who’s with him 90% of the time? Watson was no genius, but he was constantly learning where Sherlock was constantly thinking. Mentally, they made a better dynamic duo than Batman and Robin. Even Sherlock needed someone to bounce his thoughts off of. Your critical analysis should take the same approach. Isolation is good to collect your thoughts, but once collected, they must be shared, examined. You could still be missing an angle that someone else sees clearly.
Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you may still find yourself missing something. As we continue to learn, we will continue to form new biases that will blind us again and again. This is why not working alone is so important. You never know when you are compromised. Your Watson will ask you the right questions.
The development of your observational skills is important for crisis management. When do they call Sherlock? In times of crisis. When things are about to get worse. Sometimes when things couldn’t possibly get any worse. Your observational skills will make sure problems get solved before they become problems, giving the illusion of speed, but in reality, you are moving with a practiced smoothness. That is true competence.
How blind are you really?
It all begins with slowing down. How blind are you really? How sure are you on a scale of “I don’t know” to “I’d rather not find out the hard way?” Go visit a museum. Practice analyzing objectively. Find out how much you can figure out at a glance. Then, research and figure out that you were wrong. Compare what you thought then to what you know now. Ask why you thought the way you did before. Talk about it with someone else. Learn then think. That is how you will begin to see, possibly for the first time ever.
Don’t forget to pick up “Visual Intelligence” from the link below if you wish to teach yourself the all-important skill of observation.
References
Visual Intelligence – Amy Herman,
Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,