Friday, April 6, 2018

Did You See That?

Did you see that?

I probably didn't.

I'm always amazed at how other see things I don't notice. But then, I probably see things they don't notice either.

I've been in a car with three other people who discussed some of the houses we were passing. I was totally amazed that they could recall the previous colour or some bush that used to grow by the foundation or what, to me, were just random houses. If you showed me a picture of any of those homes, I would not have recognized them. I guess I don't pay as much attention to what's flowing by while I'm a passenger. There have been times when I'm sure if I was put out of the car on the way to Ottawa I would have to walk a long way before I recognized something that would even give me a clue as to which road we had taken that day. Apparently, I'm not absorbing my surroundings as well as I should be.

A bad accident happened right in front of us on the way home one day. I was looking out the side window at the time of the initial crash and didn't see what happened at all. When I looked forward there was a red truck in the air doing a Dukes of Hazard trick, and I clearly saw the danger of the tires and other stuff that were flying towards us out of the back of the truck. That whole scene was almost in slow motion and stayed with me quite a while.

The brain is an amazing organ but while it is bombarded with so much visual imagery every moment of every day, it simply cannot process it all. It tends to edit it and simplify the information.

I'm learning to draw so while I study what's in front of me, training myself to actually see that object or scene, I'm probably so absorbed in the process of trying to render it accurately that I might miss that you have just made a silly face at me or the dog has just stolen my sandwich.

Police will question multiple witnesses not just to verify that what they are hearing is the truth, but because each person probably saw something some of the others didn't even notice. I have come across an interesting video that gives you real insight into just what it is you see, or don't see. Go watch the video HERE. I'd be really interested in hearing your results.