Observing and Seeing Book Summary

HOW KEEN IS YOUR OBSERVATION?
 
 
Which light is on the top of the traffic light? Is the red or Green? Your first thought, probably is that this is an easy question to answer. However, put yourself in this position – you are on one of the current quiz shows that pays a lot of money for correct answers. You must answer this question correctly to win the top prize. Now then, which light is on top, the Red or the Green?
 
If you have been able to position yourself in the above position, you are probably hesitating now, because you’re not really sure which light is on top, are you? If you are sure, then you’re one of the minorities who has observed what most people only see. There is a world of difference between seeing and observing; proven, of course, by the fact that most of the people to whom I put the above question, either give the wrong answer or are not sure. This, even though they see the traffic lights countless times every day!
 
By the way, Red is always on top of the traffic light. Green is always on the bottom. If you were sure that Red was the correct answer, let me see if I can’t puncture your pride a bit with another observation test.
 
Don’t look at your wrist watch! Don’t look at your wrist watch, and answer this question: Is the number six on your watch dial, the Arabic #6, or is it the Roman Numeral VI? Think over this for a moment, before you look at your watch. Decide on your answer as if it were really important that you answer correctly. You’re on that quiz show again and there’s lot of money at stake.
 
All right, have you decided on your answer? Now, look at your watch and see if you were right. Were you? Or were you wrong in either case, because your watch doesn’t have a six at all? The small dial that ticks off the seconds usually occupies that space on most modern watches.
 
Try this on your friends. Although people see their watches innumerable times every day, few of them can tell you about the numeral six.
 
Observation is one of the things important to training your memory. The other, and more important thing, is association. We cannot possibly remember anything that we do not observe. After something is observed, either by sight or hearing, or must, in order to be remembered, be associated in our minds with, or t o, something we already know or remember.
 
Association, as pertaining to memory, simply means the connecting or tying up of two (or more) things to each other. Anything you manage to remember, or have managed to remember, is only due to the fact that you have subconsciously associated it to something else. “Every Good Boy Does Fine.” Does that sentence mean anything to you? If it does, then you must have studied music as a youngster. Almost every child that studies music is taught to remember the lines of the music staff or treble clef, by remembering, “ Every Good Boy Does Fine.”
 
Can you draw anything that resembles the map of England, from memory? How about China or Japan? You probably can’t draw any of these. If I had mentioned Italy, ninety percent of you would have immediately seen a picture of a boot in your mind’s eye. Is that right? If you did, and if you draw a boot, you will have the approximate outline of the map of Italy.
 
Why did this picture appear in your mind’s eye? Only because, at one time or another; perhaps many years ago, you either heard or noticed that the map of Italy resembled a boot. The shape of Italy, of course, was the new thing to remember; the boot was something we already know and remembered.
 
You can see that simple conscious associations helped you memorize abstract information like the above examples very easily. Ideas of simple conscious associations can be applied to remembering anything. Yes, that’s right – remembering anything, including names and face, items, objects, facts, figures, speeches, etc.