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This is a really good observation. I've noticed that people who are successful tend to have an uncanny ability to 'see' the right things. And making good decisi

This is a really good observation. I've noticed that people who are successful tend to have an uncanny ability to 'see' the right things. And making good decisions is often a function of a person's ability to be aware of what is happening around them. It's tricky though because I don't know many techniques for expanding one's field of vision - is it possible to learn to "see the things you cannot see".

ceejay 10y ago
I think the "trick" (not really a trick) is to learn to "see things for what they are". As simple as that sounds, I'm always surprised at how difficult it seems to be for some people. And how I can easily get caught in that trap if I am not being disciplined enough with my own thoughts / learning. Especially obvious when that lack of discipline helps shape the foundation of one's thoughts on a topic.
- pjc50 10y ago
  Most art courses start with some kind of training in "seeing". What are the real proportions of something? Can we percieve a face as a collection of light and dark areas rather than letting our feature-decoding brain make its own impressions? If you look at the colour of something in isolation, how does it compare to its perception in a scene? And so on.
naasking 10y ago
> It's tricky though because I don't know many techniques for expanding one's field of vision - is it possible to learn to "see the things you cannot see". It seems to me like a habit of constantly questioning my own assumptions. Or perhaps, list the relevant factors supporting a conclusion, and then remove some of them and see what other reasonable conclusions you can reach if you actively avoid the excluded factors.
Toenex 10y ago
I've always found it interesting to observe how people approach code debugging for a similar reason; can they see, not just look. Quite often people will think they 'know' exactly where the problem resides and fail to find the problem despite visible evidence to the contrary. Specifically crafted 'debugging' tests are a valuable part of my interview approach, even for non-technicals.

ceejay 10y ago

I think the "trick" (not really a trick) is to learn to "see things for what they are". As simple as that sounds, I'm always surprised at how difficult it seems to be for some people. And how I can easily get caught in that trap if I am not being disciplined enough with my own thoughts / learning. Especially obvious when that lack of discipline helps shape the foundation of one's thoughts on a topic.

pjc50 10y ago
Most art courses start with some kind of training in "seeing". What are the real proportions of something? Can we percieve a face as a collection of light and dark areas rather than letting our feature-decoding brain make its own impressions? If you look at the colour of something in isolation, how does it compare to its perception in a scene? And so on.

naasking 10y ago

> It's tricky though because I don't know many techniques for expanding one's field of vision - is it possible to learn to "see the things you cannot see". It seems to me like a habit of constantly questioning my own assumptions. Or perhaps, list the relevant factors supporting a conclusion, and then remove some of them and see what other reasonable conclusions you can reach if you actively avoid the excluded factors.

Toenex 10y ago

I've always found it interesting to observe how people approach code debugging for a similar reason; can they see, not just look. Quite often people will think they 'know' exactly where the problem resides and fail to find the problem despite visible evidence to the contrary. Specifically crafted 'debugging' tests are a valuable part of my interview approach, even for non-technicals.