“Yes indeed you see, we all see, but often you do not observe.” – Joseph Bell
“You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear. For example, you have frequently seen the steps which lead up from the hall to this room.” – Sherlock Holmes
“More is missed by not looking than not knowing.” – Thomas McCrae
“For one mistake made for not knowing, ten mistakes are made for not looking.” – James Alexander Lindsay
“To observe correctly and decide wrongly is sure to happen to the best of us, but to observe carelessly happens only when we permit it.” – Thomas McCrae
“To observe attentively is to remember distinctly” – Edgar Allan Poe
“I think that I am superior to the common run of men in noticing things which easily escape attention, and in observing them carefully.” – Charles Darwin
“You can observe a lot by just watching.” – Yogi Berra
As Popper famously argued, you don’t just “observe” the world as it is, because your observation necessarily reflects your worldview. The essence of observation is self-reflection.revisit
Related:develop
- 1-2g2f The virtual-reality rendering of their environment (i.e., creating knowledge about its niches) is the characteristic means by which human beings (and life in general) survive
- 1-2g2j1a Because we can only be with the virtual-reality, all our renderings will be inaccurate
- 4-1d3 The most effective communication is to listen
- 5-2b5 Theories precede data
- 5-2b6 Theories need data
- 5-2b7 The skeptical empiricist doubts both data and theory
- 10-2 Thick descripting myself — a configuration of ideas which is me
- Observe others, and apply those insights to yourself:
- The difference between observation and mere seeing is similar to one which exists between action and mere behavior—what differentiates both is intent and purposefulness via knowledge.