Just how much of our world do we pay attention to? Do we truly notice everything we should? Let's find out. Below is my research on this topic and how it impacts us.
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While technology does not help the lack of observation some humans show, it is not all to blame. Our psychological mind has to filter out what it deems unimportant or we'd be insane by now. You have to train yourself to remember observations like Shawn Spencer. It isn't all our devices' fault. Schools also don't put this at the top of the list sometimes, because even logical deduction is sometimes low on the list and the two do connect.
To put it simply, our brains can't focus on everything at once. We filter out what is unimportant and prioritize even within our own minds. Sherlock is not neurotypical. If you wish to get some of his skills you have to learn logical deduction. He can pay attention to so much because he is not quite normal (making him a bit quirky). Most people can't do what he does. Today I explore the average observation levels of average people. I will, however, touch on the exceptions to the rule.
Common Occurrences
What do you see every day that you don't notice? Plenty, actually. For one, your brain will autocorrect words sometimes. For another, the common objects that we see almost every day no longer show up on our radar, especially if we haven't needed them for an extremely long time. Also, if someone does the exact same thing for a long enough period of time, your brain will consider it normal and won't draw your attention to it. This was proven when one of my roommates in college cleaned the room every Friday and I never noticed - at all (but not because she did a bad job -she did a good job).
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Another thing about us humans is that we focus on ourselves more often than we know. Introspective people can get lost in their own minds, for example, and not notice that their roommate cleaned every Friday, even as that person watched her clean every Friday while doing homework. This is why people who fade into the background get a lot of information from conversations (servants, people wiping tables.....). There are many people, like cleaning workers, that actually can become invisible to many people because they do the same thing every day.
The summary of this whole section is this; if it is common and happens daily, we won't take much notice of it.
Choosing What Is Important
There are times that we choose to focus on something and tune out what is unrelated. For instance, I could do a puzzle and ignore the time on the clock. We do this all the time. In a busy street, we turn our attention to the sign that says when to walk or the shops we pass. We don't stop to focus on every single detail. It is all filtered mentally into two boxes - important and unimportant. It is called selective attention and it stops us from going absolutely insane. We select what goes in important and ignore the rest. You probably don't remember what color the driver of a car was wearing unless you have been trained to observe like Shawn Spencer (who was taught to do this by his father early in life).
Visual attention goes two ways - spotlight and zoom-lens. Spotlight works exactly like a spotlight, where the most important is in the middle and the rest get put in the margins from there. Zoom-lens works like a camera lens, zooming in to laser-focus on something or zooming out for the big picture (which takes more time to process). Auditory (hearing) attention has to do with the volume of the conversation. Cocktail effect makes it so you can hear only tidbits of the conversations at a time. If a change in volume happens you will notice, but the language could change mid-conversation and the volume could stay the same, yet you might not notice.
Getting Lost In Our Heads
So, I mentioned getting lost in your mind earlier. I do that all the time. Someone can easily sneak up on you and scare you that way. It can easily happen to introverts or introspective types, as well as literally everyone on the planet. For now, let's talk about our thoughts.
We wander everywhere in our minds and don't stay in the present near enough. Don't believe me? Tally how many times you are thinking about the future or travel back into the past in your thoughts. It is shocking how much time we spend in our brain ignoring our present moment of life. Wandering thoughts actually give us stress. If you start to take notice of this and correct yourself, you'll see so much you didn't before. Writers who sit in cafes and observe people see quite a lot of human nature. You should try cutting time out of your day to observe the public population around you (preferably in a safe place) with a journal.
How do you stop yourself from getting lost in your head? Well, it's hard. We do it so often that we are blind to it most of the time. Introspective humans are especially guilty of this. It all starts with recognizing that you are wandering. After that, you bring yourself into the present and focus all your attention on something happening 'now'. Not later, not in the future - now! This temporarily shuts off autopilot. You will have to do this repeatedly, but after a while, it gets easier to recognize when you wander off into your own head. It is worth it.
The Exceptions To The Rule
Introverts, as much as we get lost in our heads, pay attention quite a bit so we don't have to ask verbal questions. Yes, you heard me, we notice more than what we voice. This requires logical deduction (whether it is at Sherlock Holmes level or not is up to you). For instance, at work there are many people at tables with nametags. Helpers and nurses take orders to tables, but often ask where someone sits if they don't know. Even with table numbers on the order (which did help after that was included), some will still ask who sits where. Anyone with logical deduction skills won't need to ask unless someone doesn't have a name tag. The tags go unnoticed by many due to being common items that are always there. Using logical deduction saves time and means I don't have to have to point out where everyone sits.
Those with mental illness also pay attention more, but for social cues. Appearing normal is a major reason to observe those around you. Keep this in mind when you see someone who looks like a fish out of water. They may not be a person with mental illness, but the concept still remains because we all want to be approved of and look normal (mostly). Still, those that deal with mental illness will be paying extra attention.
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Observant people can do many things. For one, they can tell if you are lying sometimes (being human we're not always right). Bodily cues give off whether you are uncomfortable or lying. These people see introvert zones and are often good friends to introverted people as a result. They will take in details about places and people that they often have to play dumb to (because irritating someone like Sherlock does is not the best thing to do). Also, some people are seriously spooked by you knowing more about them than they shared. In general, good and fully engaged listeners are good observers, too. Speaking of being fully engaged, they are also more situationally alert. They also have their stuff organized in such a way that when it is moved they will notice. This is because it was there for a reason and placed for maximum productivity. They are usually analytical types. Landmarks also pop out to these people, meaning they may actually know where they parked or by what shop you entered the mall at. These observant souls also have a lot of factual information in their pockets. As if all this wasn't enough, they are better judges of character, have great critical thinking skills, and people watch. If you see a perfectionist, think of the observant. They will find something new in their old favorites, too. They are better at relationships due to noticing facial expressions and stress or changes in people.
The Takeaway
At the end of the day, we are human. We have a brain that can't pay attention to everything at once. It has to filter out some of it so we can function correctly. Quite frankly, most of us are not Sherlock, but we can develop our ability to stay in the present instead of checking out. We can logically deduce and train ourselves to notice life around us. Try it today and you'll see a whole new world. You may even be able to figure out more by yourself and find more independence.
As for our technology, it is an inanimate object that we can use for good or evil. With boundaries it is good and without it, well, you'll be mastered by it. Any type of technological addiction can be stopped with healthy boundaries and accountability. Remember that your devices do not have to rule over you. If you need to take a day and leave them on their chargers unopened, go ahead. I used to once every week and it was marvelous, especially during the editing process I was going through. Devices are designed for the tasks you use them for. If you find yourself surfing the web out of boredom put it down and go find a personal project or book.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/metacognition-and-the-mind/201806/why-we-stop-noticing-the-world-around-us
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-selective-attention-2795022
https://www.inc.com/nate-klemp/harvard-psychologists-reveal-real-reason-were-all-so-distracted.html
https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2017.00023
https://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/15-things-only-incredibly-observant-people-would-understand.html
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-psychology/chapter/introduction-to-perception/
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