How can I become more observant?

[shasah]

There are some people that can give you a description of a person or a place after seeing them/it for just a few seconds. I am not one of those people unfortunately. Sure, I could describe it, but the little details escape me. Give me numbers or words, and I am good to go, but people and things are another story. Any advice on how to become more observant of the small visuals in life?

One of my plans is to take up nature photography which should help me to start paying attention to small details. Any thoughts on if this would help or any other ways to help me improve in this area?

[Angela]

At the risk of being obnoxiously repetitive, hakalau would be really excellent to get the results you want. It's actually what hakalau is all about -- being highly present and very observant, both at a conscious and unconscious level.

[shasah]

Originally Posted by Angela

At the risk of being obnoxiously repetitive, hakalau would be really excellent to get the results you want. It's actually what hakalau is all about -- being highly present and very observant, both at a conscious and unconscious level.

Thanks Angela. I don't recall ever hearing of this technique so I will give it a try. (and it may be repetitive to you but it is new to me) I guess I need to visit your site more often, always something of interest there!!

[Karanime]

Curiosity.

If you're interested in something, you'll remember it.

/<3

[shasah]

Originally Posted by Karanime

Curiosity.

If you're interested in something, you'll remember it.

/<3

I don't think curiosity will help with the small details. A painter has to pay attention to small details, a police officer has to also. I think that being more observant would help me with my associations with other people. For instance, a friend can go into someone's apartment once and notice all the details and then later surprise that person with a gift that fit in perfectly with the apartment. I think this would be very useful both personally and professionally. Maybe just being conscious of the fact that it can be useful will help?

[Karanime]

Originally Posted by shasah

I don't think curiosity will help with the small details. A painter has to pay attention to small details, a police officer has to also. I think that being more observant would help me with my associations with other people. For instance, a friend can go into someone's apartment once and notice all the details and then later surprise that person with a gift that fit in perfectly with the apartment. I think this would be very useful both personally and professionally. Maybe just being conscious of the fact that it can be useful will help?

In the case of the painter, they love looking at the small details, otherwise they wouldn't be doing it.

Some cops, though they have to pay attention to details, rarely do, because sometimes they just don't care.

I think you're already in the right direction, because you're wanting to be more observant. All you have to do now is want to know.

If you want to know everything about a person, and you know you can figure it all out by noticing the details, you will, subconsciously or not, scan for details. If you're an interior decorator, you'll be able to notice details in the decor of an apartment.

It's just what people care about. And if you care about those kinds of details, then you'll naturally notice them.

/<3

[Brutha]

Nobody notices every detail.

When it comes to noticing details of a person it has a lot to do with whether you attach meaning to those details.
A person who thinks about whether the colors of the shoes match with the color of the shirt is more likely to remember something about those shoes.
A fashion conscious person might also ask themselves about the price of those shoes.
Do those shoes match the fashion trend that exists at the moment or are they last season?

It's not only about asking those questions but also about getting an answer for yourself. If you are afraid to make judgement based on small details you are also less likely to remember those details.

You need to connect the details that you want to notice to ideas and frameworks that you already have in your head.

[Ashton Cartwright]

There was a really good book written on this subject called Read Em And Reap. It was buy an ex FBI guy. Its actually a book about observing people at the poker table, but the focus is increasing your powers of observation.

[Cochonette]

I become more observant after reading something poetic, like a book on Zen or (one of my favorite novels) The God of Small Things. I become more poetic, temporarily. Also, talking to certain people increases my poetic tendency. I had a friend tell me ze thought everything I said was poetry, but I think it had a lot to do with hir. Meditation also helps. Observe your mind and you will begin to observe things outside more clearly.

Otherwise, pick a topic related to people and just study it through books / online... as someone mentioned, fashion. I think that will help you begin to notice more things. I am not a very observant person either... some people are just more intelligent and pick up a lot of things, whether it's observing people, watching a movie, reading a book, reading an academic article, etc. I feel like my mind is blank compared to the people around me. So I think there are definitely limits to improvement in comparison to others, if you are like me, but it doesn't mean you can't improve tremendously if you really work at it. And who knows, you might turn out to be pretty good at it.

I had to write a creative essay on getting lost in the city once. We were told to walk around the city and pay attention to details because details are important in writing. That was probably the best essay I wrote in that class... I picked up a lot of details... but then again, I was also in a really good mood getting away from Texas to the city and was just seeing it all as great at that moment.

There's an idea. Try writing a creative essay about your observations. Make it a continual practice. I only did that once.

[elucidate]

The very act of intending to become more observant is sending a signal that this is something you want to cultivate with your mind.

Also...less talking, more watching. Try going to a park and sitting down and just watching people for a half hour a day or more if you can...just watch them and do your best to notice everything you can about their clothes, jewellery, shoes their individual ways of walking, smoking etc.

It will train your mind to start noticing everything you can.

[Optimistic Journey]

I understand what you mean. When I was younger, if the family went to an event, my sisters would talk about "oh did you see so and so? She was the one wearing the pink dress with the bun and this and that...LOL" and I couldn't remember for the life in me. Or maybe I saw who they were talking about but I didn't notice the details of what they were wearing.

I think some people are observant by nature whereas others, like me, place their attention more inward. I think it comes down to what we are all observant about too.

The distinction between being observant period, and what are we observant about. One someone may be observant and notice someone walk into the store after seeing them in the wanted page of the newspaper, while the next person may be observent in another area such as science for example.

[Optimistic Journey]

Another note... I think a resolve to this would be practicing paying attention to details. One may want to make the choice to describe in his mind the details of people around him things around him more than normal.

[Angelique]

Maybe it has to do with your learning style. Maybe you're not as visual as you are verbal, since you like words. Do you remember things better if you hear them? If so, maybe you could describe the little things out loud to yourself.
(I am this way with telephone numbers. If I hear it I can remember it way better than when I see it on paper, even though I'm not too bad at visual memory.)

Of course if you're more of a kinesthetic/feeling learner it'll be different.

[scotthegeek]

I'm not very observant when it comes to people because I'm introverted. and have some learn disabilities "visual closure" the ability to visualize a complete whole when given incomplete information or a partial picture but even when I see the whole object, if my expectation of the oriantation of object is different I might not see it.

My last job I had was stocking shelf and I was the slowest because I had trouble finding where things go. even if the where right in front of me. and being push to work fast made things worse.

I have been use posit science software and I have been finding pennies and pens on the sidewalks I never been able to do that before. I think my brain is rewiring itself. and I'm more emotionally engaged.

Scott

[shasah]

Thanks for all the tips guys and gals. I have found two ways to become more observant.
1. I took up photography. You have to be able to notice details if you want good pictures.
2. My daughter reminded me that her father used to question her about what color the last sign was that we had passed and other details when she was little. She didn't do so good at first but because she knew the question was coming, she took notice of details. She is probably the most observant person I know and I should have asked her sooner. So I do a lot more questioning myself as I pass things. Not as good as someone else asking unexpectedly but it has helped some.

Still a work in progress but it's coming along. Take care.

[Brutha]

My daughter reminded me that her father used to question her about what color the last sign was that we had passed and other details when she was little. She didn't do so good at first but because she knew the question was coming, she took notice of details.

That sounds like a very educative game to play with children (or adults ).

[danas]

Im one of those overly observant ppl.
The other day I was on the subway. I saw this woman I knew but didnt remember from where. I stared at her, and then I said "hi!"
she said "do I know you??"
"I know you really well- dont you know me?"
"no- not at all"
Everything about her was familiar, her shoes, her watch- I knew her really well, just couldnt remember from where. This made her curious, she asked me where I worked, where Im from- but we had nothing in common what so ever. Yet I knew her!
Only a week later it hit me. This woman stood in line to get a juice months back. Because I observed every little detail about her i thought I knew her.
I even remeber making stories in my head about her life. So when I saw her, I felt like we were friends or something haha

Also when I hear a story i want all the details.
Friends laugh at me- they say I even want to know the licence plate number of they car in the story. I guess Im just overly curious. Plus, as an artist its my job to be observant. I see things most people walk past for years without noticing. I notice graffiti in the cement on the sidewalks.

I never remember names though, unless I really try

The only adviceI can give is just find a way to make the details interesting to you

[Cochonette]

Originally Posted by danas

Im one of those overly observant ppl.
The other day I was on the subway. I saw this woman I knew but didnt remember from where. I stared at her, and then I said "hi!"
she said "do I know you??"
"I know you really well- dont you know me?"
"no- not at all"
Everything about her was familiar, her shoes, her watch- I knew her really well, just couldnt remember from where. This made her curious, she asked me where I worked, where Im from- but we had nothing in common what so ever. Yet I knew her!
Only a week later it hit me. This woman stood in line to get a juice months back. Because I observed every little detail about her i thought I knew her.
I even remeber making stories in my head about her life. So when I saw her, I felt like we were friends or something haha

Also when I hear a story i want all the details.
Friends laugh at me- they say I even want to know the licence plate number of they car in the story. I guess Im just overly curious. Plus, as an artist its my job to be observant. I see things most people walk past for years without noticing. I notice graffiti in the cement on the sidewalks.

I never remember names though, unless I really try

The only adviceI can give is just find a way to make the details interesting to you

Wow. Tell me a story.

[180]

What you're looking for is more photographic memory... the ability to recall. There are several neuro theories behind the ability for people to recall "photographically". A lot of it has to do with cognition or learning by ways of clustering. It's sort of an automatic mnemonic peg.

For example, it's theorized that when some people look at a picture and are able to recall the picture, they code everything or symbolize it. Think about computers. When we see a picture, it's not actually a picture. It's actually a series of codes that are 1's and 0's.

The mind doesn't use 1's and 0's but we use some sort of symbolic logic. An example I can give of this is imagine that every thing you are seeing right now, is entering your brain symbolically as something else. For example, the cup you see might be blue and wavy with coffee stains littered all over it (lol it's my mug). However, for the mind to achieve some cognition... or learning there has to be some novelty behind. The mug itself is boring, it serves no function to memorize it. Ergo, for it to be easily recognizable or identified the mug has to have some meaning. Either as it's purpose "a coffee holder" or as letters" C U P" or as something else. A cup means something different to EVERYONE. The nuances of language and symbolism is probably better understood by reading some cheesy sleep inducing Harvard professor like Noam Chomsky. I'd recommend reading his books but they will surely put you to sleep.

Let's say if before I'm highly traumatized as a kid... a mug almost took the life of my family, this particular day it was raining mugs and one bonked my sister on the head. The brain learns to associate the mug with some sort of emotion and therefore is easily recognizable and learned.

A mug has meaning in my life... a sister killer. Because of this symbolic meaning I can recognize the mug and recall it easily. In fact, I might notice ALL mugs... I'll notice their color, texture, and their... glaring luster. If all things in this world has such representation then recollection becomes easier. This is why mnemonic devices work so well.

A picture is just a picture if it doesn't have meaning or purpose. But imagine if that picture has $10,000 hidden somewhere in it. You'd probably remember that picture very well. Or imagine the picture is a lamp with wings. Weird... but because it's novel, it's something our brain will remember. Our brains SEEK novelty. It's like a... intellectual currency... if you will. The mind remembers well what we put value to it. That's why when something is funny, rare, or meaningful we remember it.

Training such an ability is hard. But I think changing a mental perspective to association can help.

I'll give you an example, back in college I was experimenting with mnemonics. I had terrible terrible memory and I wanted to get to it's roots. I remember on the train I saw a guy with a white fur coat and tiger stripped shoes. I was like.. the dude is a sheep and tiger rolled into 1. That image of him remains with me even today. That was over 8 years ago I saw that man on the train. I can barely even remember my own age sometimes. I can still remember that man in all his fashionable glory.

Such is the power of symbolism in registering that image.

[180]

One more thing, that might actually help you.

Think about it this way. Some people when they see art ... let's Georgia O Keefe... they see a flower.

Other people when they see, they see lines, curves, colors, palletes, mixes, interweaves, fading, transitions.

Each has their own perspective and allows them to remember each detail differently.The more you understand art, the more you can see art.

Computer analogy.

To an average man, a computer is
Runs Word processing
And runs solitare

To the IT guy, a computer is
2.0gzh Pentium 4 processor,
4 gigs of ram,
a 160gb hard drive,
and a Geforce 4 ti4200.
And so much more...

The more you can understand a things detail will open up the ability to memorize and view it in a perspective that is meaningful to you.

[Talkofthatown919]

To be more observant simply open your mind up to everything about what it is that you are curious and interested about.

[deunan]

A trick I use is to pretend I'm in the future, giving a detailed description of what I experienced (but actually am presently experiencing) to someone. Using the past tense in the present. Visualizing myself remembering everything.

[johntruthseeker]

don't think, just see. be mindful, watch your mind, see your thoughts, become the master of your mind. you will become more aware of your surroundings, when your mind is not cluttered. hope this helps
John

[Lethalmind]

You could do a 30 day trial of mindfulness like me.

You could also look at paintings, and make it appoint to find at least 5 things about it that are not obvious.