In Defense of our What We See, and What We Miss

     As an introduction to the topic of perception, I would like to share the following videos: Selective Attention Test, and Test Your Awareness: Whodunnit?

Selective Attention Test [link]

Test Your Awareness: Whodunnit? [link]

   While these videos might appear to be simply humorous at first glance, there's no denying that they're also thought-provoking. As the busy, distracted human beings that we sometimes tend to be, I think sometimes we'd like to believe that we're the ones to blame for our inattentiveness. What most people don't know, however, is that there are scientific explanations as to why we focus on certain details, while we ignore others. Science can explain why we seem to focus subconsciously or automatically. 

     Nowadays it's very easy, cliché even, to blame technology. It's easy to blame our modern, hectic, day-to-day lives. I don't want to deny that those factors have an influence... But I can't help but feel that when we adopt this mentality, we're doing a disservice to ourselves. 

     As it turns out, it would be physically impossible for our brains to pay attention to everything, all the time, even if we wanted to. Our bodies are constantly being bombarded with all different kinds of stimuli. If our brain tried to process all of those at the same time, our senses would get overwhelmed. Not just that; the process of taking in all that stimuli would be downright draining. Our brains know how to prioritize: they recognize what matters now and what can be ignored or dealt with later. From the moment we wake up it is not really up to us, but rather up to our brains, to decide what to pay attention to and what to ignore. 

     That being said, it is always possible to re-train our brain to focus on different things. I am reminded of a quote from the book Perspective: Amateur Eyes by Alexandra Horowitz:

Though paying attention seems simple, there are numerous forms of payment. I reckon that every child has been admonished by teacher or parent to "pay attention." But no one tells you how to do that.

It's true: growing up, the concept of attention is one of those things that we learn by context. We understand the connotation of the word, even if we don't exactly know it's denotation. We are never shown just how to pay attention. Similarly, we are never shown how concentration works, either. That's not to say that we grow up noticing the wrong things. Yet it must be established that when talking about perception, apart from the scientific angle, there's also a social one. We grown up and learn to concentrate on certain serious things. We are taught to value schoolwork, chores, and responsibilities, while leaving more "trivial" things (sightseeing, daydreaming) aside. Somewhere along the line, we forget just how multifarious the idea of attention is, and of all the potential that it holds. 

     In the ever-constant process of prioritizing and forgetting, of paying attention and ignoring, it's important to maintain an optimistic attitude. After all, we should respect our brains for what they do, not resent them for what they forget. Will your life change because you stopped on your way to work in order to smell flowers? Will your fate be transformed if you make the decision to stare at the clouds for ten minutes everyday? Perhaps not, but then again, maybe we shouldn't ask for that much. Perhaps the greatest thing about perspective is the fact that it's never set in stone. Once you start thinking about perception and realize just how much you've been missing, it's easy to feel disheartened. But once you reclaim your attention, once you begin to observe the world around you actively instead of passively, you realize that there's so much more to explore.