The Art And Science Of Observation.

Chaitanya

The art and science of observation.
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*To see what is in front of ones nose needs constant struggle Inuit saying*

Observation. Do you observe? The origin of the word can be traced back to the Latin word observare (the prefix ob meaning towards or in the direction of and the verb servare meaning to watch carefully or attentively, often for a purpose or with the intention to understand). From the very word, it is very clear it is active participation. Observation has two aspects: change in sense perception and mental process, which may be conscious or unconscious. No wonder it is more associated with science, research and data, but it should not deter us from decluttering it to bring it into everyday activity.
Change in sense perception can happen due to various factors, such as biological, psychological, environmental, emotional or external influences. As a people, we are so enamoured with the changes happening outside that we largely remain ignorant about the significance of senses and the mental process. Here we intend to flip it, shift focus on senses and mental processes without underestimating the importance of change in external stimuli.

Observation is made to gather information, understand phenomena and make informed decisions. The act of observation permeates life, from everyday life experiences (personal and professional) to scientific discoveries. Ease in survival, indiscriminate lifestyle and misuse of senses have led to the degenerate/reduced power of a few senses (1). So, it makes sense to enhance sense perception. Unfortunately, word observation got confined mostly to visual perception (sometimes only to visual). Breaking free from the observation of visual perception only, we will observe how to enhance each sense, one by one.

Visual perception can be enhanced by puzzles, mazes, spot-the-difference puzzles, solving pictorial mental ability questions, solving banking or clerical grade examination questions, finding patterns in price charts of shares or indices, and games which involve excellent hand-eye coordination (table tennis, etc.), observing modern or classical paintings (you dont need to be an artist to appreciate art), learning calligraphy, art, sketching and drawing (copying art or art itself is more mathematics than it seems).

Audio perception can be enhanced by listening to different type of music from Western classical music ( starting at least from Masters such as Mozart, Bach, Beethoven etc., symphony ,opera ) to Indian classical music (different styles, ragas , gharans and jugal bandhis ), listening to different frequency, tune, Rhythm and pitches, listening to viral songs of different languages (thinking about factors what could have made the viral), folk music of different Nations and different regions of India and identifying different instrument, different kinds of music country, jazz, rock or pop, pattern and sound in music and background score and last but not least active listening and sound walk.

The sense of taste can be enhanced by trying different foods, fruits, vegetables or better yet, trying food without spices and salt (the taste of ingredients gets lost in a sea of spices or in chewing plain rice or chapattis); participating in tasting sessions of coffee, tea or wine; experimenting with the effect of cooking food in utensils of different metals on taste; and becoming a food taster of your home (assess the salt and different spices without offending).

The sense of touch can be enhanced by playing with the clay, oils, and sand; trying your hand at pottery or clay modelling; identifying objects blindfolded; touching objects with different pressure and different parts of the body; and rubbing the whole body with the hand before taking a bath.
The sense of smell can be enhanced by smelling different flowers, scents, strong and distinctive smells rose, coffee, eucalyptus oil, the aroma of different foods, aand practising aromatherapy.

Now remember yourself using a microscope or telescope for the first time, which helps to break the mental barrier and make the mind ready to accept what was not apparent. Ultrasonic and microscope microphones (audio), tactile microscopes, atomic force microscopes (touch), nano sensors and bioengineered smell receptor olfactometers (smell), taste enhancement and amplification devices (taste) enabled the gathering of information that would have been inconceivable to earlier generations and helped the human race to transcend its natural perceptual limits.

*All yogic processes are essentially about enhancing your sense perception because it is a profoundness of your perception which brings clarity to every aspect of life Sadhguru J.V.*

The above steps demystify the enhancement of the external sense perception. The same can be replicated for other senses by prolonged contemplation (0). The only drawback in this effort is the lack of integration of all senses in our circle of observation. Let's take the example of a fundamental need and desire for food (everyday activity). Now imagine a food which looks delicious, or imagine a food which smells delicious, or imagine a food which seems delicious because of its sound effects, or better, imagine a food which looks, sounds and smells delicious.
Next time you get any of the above food. Take some time off from that busy life of yours (for heavens sake). Now, do NOT imagine. - Enjoy the sight of the food: how good does it look (shape, size, colour, texture, dressing and presentation); the aroma of the food that fills you with a joyous expectation of having it from the time you take it in your hand to the mouth; how good the sound of the first few bites feels; the touch of the food on hard and soft palates, different sides of your mouth and changing and developing taste of food as you chew it more and more. Relish the whole process. Just do not stop it with the first bite. Carry on with each bite. Then, every time you take the food. (1.5)

Pure presence staying in that present moment without letting the mind wander. Just observe the totality, depth and quality of the experience. Each sense perception is based on past experiences, emotions and memory. The holistic nature of this experience might have succeeded in developing the cracks in the chains of the maze created by the senses.

*The whole is greater than the sum of the parts Aristotle.*

So, here we will look at the following processes which can enrich the whole experience, including the mental process.

Write a detailed journal where observations from all the senses are mentioned. Challenge your memory to recreate the settings.
 Avoid multitasking. (*The shorter way to do many things is to do one thing at a time Mozart*)
 Slow down and take a back seat and see the world go by and observe the most interesting creature Human.
 Watch critically acclaimed movies without subtitles and pay careful attention to the behaviour of characters and background to weave a story of your own.
 Watch good detective, crime drama, or series based on law or solving cases based on autopsy, psychological and behavioural patterns of suspects.
 Read poems, books, and articles from diverse fields which give flight to imagination.
 Take care of senses with small exercises.
 Practice mathematics and critical thinking.
 Take food rich in fruits, vegetables, vitamins and minerals.
 Take the road less travelled when you are free from fear and take challenging tasks (incrementally and gradually).
 Make a conscious effort to observe diametrically different fields of interest. Such as medical students visiting and studying the art piece in the gallery and art students studying the microscopic image. (2)
*Study the science of the art and the art of the science. Learn how to see. Realise that everything connects to everything else. - Leonardo da Vinci*
 Diversify your interests and hobbies slowly.
 Interacting with the people from diverse fields and occupations: how they work, their thought process, techniques, methodology, challenges, etc.
 Travelling
 Practise yoga, pranayama, mindfulness or different forms of meditation (3).
 Practice silence. Then you start observing others and yourself more. (3)
 We are living in interesting times where you think, and you have an app for it. So to enhance sense perception luminosity, brain HQ aerobics, ear master, happify, Braille tutor, elevate, ten percent happier, etc.

*In the field of observation, chance favours the prepared mind Pasteur.*

But the easiest trick to follow will be to observe a child who is not docile, full of curiosity, loves to question and has not lost the sense of wonder and who assumes to be a detective and acts as one (without busting anyone's secrets).
Most probably you might have done all these things as a child. Wake up your inner child; don't be afraid even if it is a bit naughty. In fact, it helps.

*Nature speaks in patterns to those who observe carefully. Anonymous*

If there is no dearth of time while carrying out observation, then one should start with general observation; after that, look deliberately for each characteristic you know, keeping yourself open for any unusual feature (do not be so focused that you forget the obvious and that you miss the invisible gorilla (4)) and any suggested association and relationships. One should strive to maintain independence of mind, avoid conventions and not go with the preconceived notions. Michael Faraday has warned against the tendency of the mind to rest on assumptions when it appears to fit in with other existing knowledge, forgetting that it has not been proved. (5) Sometimes it is good to be stingy. Follow the maximum parsimony hypothesis with the fewest assumptions to be preferred (5). Still do not forget your child; make it engaging, joyous and fun.
Furthering the analogy that if you cannot become the question, at least spend some time with the question. So if you cannot become observed, at least spend some time with observed. Let the observed unravel itself. The famous true story of a student of Louis Agassiz and fish is a testament to it. (6)

This whole process and numerous ways to enhance observation capability may seem arduous initially, but it is similar to any skill acquired; one needs to start with conscious and meticulous effort. Slowly, with practice, and it becomes ingrained in memory and eventually spontaneous. Later a Habit. Be like a passionate and determined child who practises every day with the aim to be a maestro. The only thing required to cultivate is unflinching interest and practice! Practice!! Practice!!! It takes effort to be effortless. The greatest compliment a surgeon, engineer or technician can get is you are an artist. So the journey from science to art takes time. (7)

*Do not pay attention to others. Pay attention to yourself. This life at least deserves this. Sadguru J.V.*

The act of observation happens every moment of our lives. It is natural, the same as breathing. Ease in survival, selective attention, sensory adaptation and automatic processes and responses have cast a spell on us, multiple layers of it. One has a whole lifetime to observe the most interesting thing the mind. But it should not be an excuse to be too late. Be Jane Goodall for your actions, emotions, thoughts, desires and body movement. (8)
Flip is complete when one starts to observe without the urge to categorise as good and bad, right or wrong or any other judgement. If you cannot drop the adjectives, at least observe the source of the adjectives. Then the act of observation starts its journey towards the pure observation observation just for the sake of it and the beauty of it. Pursuit of purity or perfection takes away a lot of things. To put it mildly or gently, unnecessary things get dropped off, and the biggest thing which gets dropped off is 'I'.

Pure observation.

Peace.

*To observe is the most important thing in life. Not how to observe, but observe without any motive, without any purpose, just to observe. In that there is a tremendous beauty because there is no distortion. You see things clearly as they are. But if you make it into an idea, then through that area observed, it is a distortion J. Krishnamurti.*

Chongeshwar
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0. Senses. https://youtu.be/nMoh-8i8SB8?si=nlGQJ
1. a) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Fragile_Intellect?
b) https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5872642/
c) https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0535697100
1.5 A Hindi video about savouring the taste. https://youtu.be/LLOEVk2FttU?si=3Mapb0T1BxxFV7Yy
2. https://journals.biologists.com/dev/article/151/5/dev202786/344173/The-art-of-observation-bridging-science-and-art-to?
There are staggering number of scientists who has deep intrests in music, musical instruments or arts.
the notebooks of leonardo da vinci is fascinating .
3. Do not attempt to start any form of meditation, asana, yoga, mindfulness without guidance of experienced Guru. Same is true for silence.
4. https://achology.com/motivation/the-impact-of-the-invisible-gorilla-experiment-explained/?srsltid=AfmBOoqPCY0Oc_dPcWUOJOgKYpsziKLJCZK3t1vLv55gA4NMCxEwxQhH
5. Both quotes are taken from the book The art of scientific investigation by W.I.B Biveridge.
6. Do not miss the quote pencil is one of the best eyes.
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/agassiz-and-the-fish/
https://cs418.cs.illinois.edu/website/text/fish.htmlp.
7. artist/painter/sculptor observe, innovate and experiment and their precision and use of light and shadow ( height ,texture, change of it, etc. ) , Golden and Fibonacci ratio, colour theory , motion and balance should leave you wondering why do artists not get the similar compliment in return. Leonardo da Vinci is pinnacle of amalgamation of these two seemingly different field.
8. Jane goodall .https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/becoming-jane-goodall
https://youtu.be/d3b6zSpy7P4?si=BAfInEb57xvUJRTS 
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The above article is based on the experiences of a curious, ever-questioning, mischievous child.
 
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