On Looking
Tags: #psychology #perception #attention #neuroscience #urban studies #nature
Authors: Alexandra Horowitz
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Overview
In “On Looking”, I explore the fascinating world of perception and attention, revealing how much we miss in our everyday lives by simply not paying close enough attention. Inspired by walks with my dog, I embarked on a series of “urban safaris” with individuals who have unique ways of seeing the world. I walked with a geologist, a typographer, an insect expert, a wildlife biologist, a doctor, a blind woman, and even my toddler son, each revealing hidden layers of the seemingly ordinary city block. We explored the geological history embedded in the stone facades of buildings, the nuances of lettering and typeface design, the teeming insect life hidden in plain sight, the nocturnal world of urban wildlife, and the diagnostic clues revealed by people’s gaits. Along the way, we discovered that attention is not a simple spotlight but a complex process shaped by our expectations, experiences, and even our biology. Expertise transforms our perception, allowing us to see patterns and meaning where others see only chaos. The urban environment, often seen as artificial and sterile, reveals itself to be a rich and dynamic ecosystem teeming with life and history. Ultimately, “On Looking” is a call to awaken our senses and pay closer attention to the world around us, rediscovering the wonder and beauty hidden in the everyday.
Book Outline
1. Amateur Eyes
We walk through the world, both the familiar and the unfamiliar, with expectations of what we will see. Those expectations focus our attention on certain aspects of a scene while obscuring others. Our attention invites along attention’s companion: inattention.
Key concept: What I saw and attended to was exactly what I expected to see; what my dog showed me was that my attention invited along attention’s companion: inattention to everything else.
2. Muchness
Children, newly arrived in the world, have less experience to inform what they pay attention to. Their perception is less organized by categories and the meanings of objects. Their attention is captured by details and patterns that adults overlook, such as the geometric shapes of buildings or the recurring pattern of circles in the urban environment.
Key concept: On our block, my son has shared his discovery of the repeating motif of lights under construction scaffolding (they come in fluorescent, yellow, red, and bare-bulb white, I am happy to share with you). Of the numerous intentional or unintentional letter Os — his first spoken letter, enunciated carefully and long, lips pursed and eyes beaming with pleasure — on signs and walls (on the STOP sign, of course, but also on license plates and the zeros of no-parking signs — and by the way, nO parking, buster); on the circle-pocked grating of a window air-conditioner; in a round call button; in an egg-shaped sidewalk crack; on an iron gate with O filigree.
3. Minding Our Qs
Expertise changes how we perceive the world. What appears ordinary and unremarkable to a novice can be rich with meaning and significance to an expert. The expert’s brain attends to different elements of a scene and their perception is organized by their knowledge and experience.
Key concept: Expertise changes what you see and hear, and it even changes what you can attend to. Neuro-imagery shows us how expert and naive brains look when attending: fundamentally different.
4. Into the Fourth Dimension
Like children, artists are often drawn to the ordinary, the overlooked, and the seemingly insignificant details of a scene. They approach the world with a sense of wonder and possibility, seeing potential in objects and spaces that others might ignore.
Key concept: An infant treats objects with an unprejudiced equivalence: the plastic truck is of no more intrinsic worth to the child than an empty box is, until the former is called a toy and the latter is called garbage.
5. Flipping Things Over
Attention is often directed by a “search image,” a mental template of what we are looking for. By changing what we are looking for we also change what we see. For instance, looking for evidence of insects on leaves requires literally flipping over leaves to look at what is normally hidden from view.
Key concept: Flipping-Over behavior marked Eiseman’s approach to most things, “if things aren’t jumping out at you,” he said (and hopefully they’re not).
6. The Animals Among Us
Cities are not only built by humans, but also shaped by the rhythms of human activity. For urban wildlife, the city changes dramatically at night: with most humans inside, the city becomes quieter and darker and the animals become active.
Key concept: The reason for this is simple: us. “Humans are predictable, in terms of their behavior,” Hadidian went on. “We create pulses of traffic: we’re going into town, and then we’re going home. And long about one thirty, two thirty [in the morning], things really quiet down.”
7. A Nice Place (to Walk)
Urban design should consider not only the flow of traffic but also the needs of pedestrians. Good public spaces encourage people to slow down, loiter, and engage in social interaction, creating a vibrant and engaging urban environment.
Key concept: To Kent, the density of shops on Broadway was ideal. A good urban experience, in the Whyte spirit, was one that encourages us to slow down and loiter.
8. The Suggestiveness of Thumb-nails
The brain is remarkably plastic and adapts to sensory loss, especially when that loss occurs early in life. The blind learn to “see” using their other senses, and with training and experience they develop a heightened awareness of the world around them through sound, touch, and even smell.
Key concept: As an expert cane user, the broader sense of peripersonal space is permanent, too. The space around the cane tip is as thoroughly experienced by her brain as the space around a sighted person’s hand is to him.
9. The Sound of Parallel Parking
The perception of sound is shaped by our expectations and prior experiences, but it is also physically influenced by the environment. Even subtle changes in temperature or surface texture can dramatically alter how sounds travel and how we hear them.
Key concept: “Tires actually stick to the pavement more because of the water” when it rains, he said. “You can actually hear the sound of rubber on water; it’s different than rubber on pavement.”
10. A Dog’s-Nose View
Sound can be used to direct visual attention, shaping our perception of a scene. In film, sound is often used to create a sense of realism and immersion, but it can also be manipulated to highlight specific elements or evoke emotions.
Key concept: “You should watch that sometime on a film and see how often you see three or four people walking and you only hear one person’s footsteps.”
11. Seeing It
Our understanding of the world is constantly being shaped and reshaped by our experiences. Each new encounter adds a new layer of perception, altering our view of even the most familiar places and things.
Key concept: Our initial walk now felt like the imprimatura for an oil painting: the very first layer of paint on a canvas, which lends something to future layers but will eventually be obliterated by them.
Essential Questions
1. How does the book explore the concept of “attention” and its influence on our perception of the world?
The book explores how our perception of the world is not a passive reception of information but an active process of selection and interpretation shaped by various factors. We do not simply “see” what is in front of us; we “attend to” specific elements based on our expectations, experiences, and expertise. Children, for instance, perceive the world differently than adults due to their limited experience and lack of preconceived notions about what is interesting or important. Experts, on the other hand, see patterns and meanings that are invisible to novices, their perception shaped by years of training and accumulated knowledge. The book argues that by becoming more aware of these perceptual biases and limitations, we can learn to “see” the world more fully and appreciate the richness and complexity of even the most mundane environments.
2. How does the book challenge the perception of the city as an artificial environment separate from nature?
The book reveals that the city, often viewed as an artificial construct separate from nature, is in fact a dynamic ecosystem teeming with life and history. Buildings are made of natural materials, shaped by geological forces, and weathered by time. The streets and sidewalks, designed for human movement, become habitats for a diverse array of plants, insects, and animals. The rhythms of human activity, such as the ebb and flow of traffic, create microclimates and influence the behavior of urban wildlife. By viewing the city through the lens of geology, biology, and ecology, we can gain a deeper appreciation for its interconnectedness and its place in the natural world.
3. What is the significance of the author’s “urban safaris” with experts from different fields?
Throughout the book, the author emphasizes the value of adopting different perspectives and engaging in “urban safaris” with experts from various fields. By walking with a geologist, a typographer, an insect expert, a wildlife biologist, and others, the author gains new insights into the hidden layers of the city block. Each expert reveals patterns and meanings that she had previously overlooked, demonstrating how specialized knowledge can transform our perception of even the most familiar environments. This suggests that by actively seeking out diverse viewpoints, we can expand our understanding of the world and challenge our own perceptual biases.
4. How does the book explore the concept of “expertise” and its impact on perception?
The book argues that expertise is not just a matter of accumulating knowledge but also a transformation of perception. By immersing oneself in a particular field, the expert’s brain develops specialized neural pathways and cognitive maps, allowing them to see patterns and meaning where others see only chaos. This is exemplified by the chess master’s ability to quickly assess a board position, the geologist’s recognition of rock formations, and the typographer’s sensitivity to nuances of lettering. The book suggests that expertise allows us to “chunk” information more efficiently, making sense of complex environments and navigating them with ease.
5. How does the book go beyond the visual to explore the city through other senses, such as sound and smell?
Beyond the visual, the book explores the city through the lens of other senses, revealing the richness and complexity of the urban soundscape and olfactory landscape. By walking with a sound designer and a blind woman, the author becomes attuned to the subtle variations in sound produced by different surfaces, objects, and human activities. The city comes alive with the rhythmic clatter of footsteps, the screech of tires, the rumble of subways, and the cacophony of urban wildlife. The olfactory world, often overlooked by the visually dominant human, is revealed as a rich tapestry of scents, each carrying information about the history, activities, and even emotions of the city’s inhabitants. The book challenges us to expand our sensory awareness and appreciate the multisensory nature of urban experience.
Key Takeaways
1. Expertise Transforms Perception
Expertise is not simply a matter of having more knowledge but also a transformation of perception. Experts develop specialized neural pathways and cognitive maps, allowing them to see patterns and meaning where others see only chaos. They attend to different features, make connections more readily, and process information more efficiently.
Practical Application:
In AI product design, understanding how expertise shapes perception is crucial. By studying the cognitive processes of experts in a specific domain, designers can create interfaces and workflows that cater to their specialized needs and mental models. For instance, a medical imaging AI could be designed to highlight subtle anomalies that an experienced radiologist would be attuned to, facilitating faster and more accurate diagnoses.
2. Attention is Limited and Selective
Our attention is limited, and we are susceptible to “inattentional blindness,” the phenomenon of missing salient objects or events due to focused attention on something else. This highlights the importance of understanding how to effectively capture and direct users’ attention in a cluttered environment.
Practical Application:
Understanding the concept of inattentional blindness can help AI developers design interfaces that minimize distractions and guide users’ attention to critical information. By strategically using visual cues, such as color, size, and animation, designers can ensure that important elements are not overlooked.
3. Experience is Multisensory
Our experience of the world is not limited to vision; our other senses, including sound, smell, and touch, contribute significantly to our understanding and perception. By considering the multisensory nature of experience, we can create richer and more engaging environments.
Practical Application:
In the development of AI assistants, understanding the multisensory nature of experience can lead to more engaging and immersive interactions. For instance, an AI that provides directions could not only offer visual maps but also auditory cues that change in response to the user’s environment, creating a more intuitive and responsive experience.
4. Swarm Intelligence Guides Collective Behavior
Animals, including humans, exhibit “swarm intelligence” when moving in groups. They follow simple rules, such as avoiding collisions, aligning with neighbors, and staying close to the group, resulting in complex and efficient collective behavior. This principle can be applied to design systems that manage the movement of people or objects.
Practical Application:
In the development of autonomous vehicles, understanding the rules of “swarm intelligence” is crucial for ensuring smooth and efficient traffic flow. By programming vehicles to attend to the movements of others, maintain safe distances, and adjust their speed and trajectory accordingly, we can create a safer and more efficient transportation system.
5. Cognitive Maps Guide Navigation
Our brains create cognitive maps, mental representations of our surroundings, to navigate efficiently. These maps are based on visual cues, landmarks, and spatial relationships, allowing us to orient ourselves and find our way.
Practical Application:
The concept of cognitive maps can be applied in robotics and AI navigation systems. By creating algorithms that allow robots to map their environment, identify landmarks, and navigate efficiently, we can create more autonomous and adaptable machines that can operate in complex and dynamic settings.
Suggested Deep Dive
Chapter: A Dog’s-Nose View
The chapter, “A Dog’s-Nose View,” provides a fascinating and readily translatable perspective for thinking about AI and machine learning. By considering how dogs “see” the world through scent, we can gain inspiration for developing algorithms that process olfactory information and use it for tasks such as object recognition, navigation, and even emotional sensing.
Memorable Quotes
Amateur Eyes. 6
You missed that. Right now, you are missing the vast majority of what is happening around you. You are missing the events unfolding in your body, in the distance, and right in front of you.
Muchness. 26
As adults, we are conspirators in designing — asserting — what we see in the world.
Minerals and Biomass. 43
What an epiphany to reconceive a city — which feels just like a jumble of man-made objects — this Horensteinian way. When we think about geology, we think about what is underfoot. But Horenstein maintains, yes, it is what is under us — but it is also what surrounds us: we are inside of the geology of the city.
Minding Our Qs. 57
One trouble with being human — with the human condition — is that, as with many conditions, you cannot turn it off.
A Dog’s-Nose View. 186
Because humans are not smell-centered, we have difficulty imagining how rich in odors the world is. That is a constraint of our eyes: the picture they paint is so vivid that we assume there is no other way to make sense of the world but as a series of things to see.
Comparative Analysis
“On Looking” shares thematic similarities with works like “A Pattern Language” by Christopher Alexander, which explores the impact of design on human behavior and perception, and “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” by Jane Jacobs, which advocates for the vibrancy and complexity of urban environments. However, Horowitz’s book distinguishes itself by its focus on the subjective experience of the city, exploring how individual perception, shaped by expertise, sensory limitations, and personal history, creates unique worldviews. Unlike Alexander’s prescriptive approach to design, Horowitz embraces the chaotic, messy, and often surprising nature of the urban landscape, highlighting the beauty and meaning hidden in plain sight. While Jacobs emphasizes the social and economic forces shaping cities, Horowitz delves into the perceptual and cognitive processes that make the city a lived experience, exploring how our senses, attention, and expectations shape our understanding of the urban environment.
Reflection
In “On Looking”, Horowitz provides a compelling argument for mindful attention, urging us to break free from our habitual inattention and engage more fully with the world around us. Her approach is both personal and scientific, blending anecdotes from her walks with insights from psychology, neuroscience, and ecology. The book’s strength lies in its ability to make complex scientific concepts accessible and engaging, demonstrating their relevance to our everyday lives. However, the book’s emphasis on subjective experience can lead to overly romanticized views of the city. While Horowitz celebrates the beauty and complexity of urban environments, she tends to downplay the social and economic inequalities that shape them. Additionally, her focus on individual perception can overshadow the role of cultural and societal norms in shaping our understanding of the world. Nonetheless, “On Looking” serves as a powerful reminder that there is always more to see, hear, and experience if we only take the time to pay attention. This message is particularly relevant in an age of digital distraction, where our attention is constantly being pulled in multiple directions. The book encourages us to cultivate mindfulness, not just as a means of appreciating our surroundings but also as a way of enriching our lives and expanding our understanding of the world and ourselves.
Flashcards
What is déformation professionnelle?
The tendency to look at every context from the point of view of one’s profession.
What is a search image?
A mental image used to scan the environment for a specific object or feature.
What is animism?
The attribution of life to inanimate objects.
What is thigmotaxis?
The tendency of animals to walk along walls, feeling most comfortable in contact with something.
What is inattentional blindness?
A term for missing a salient object or event due to focused attention on something else.
What is kinesthesia?
The experience of sensing the world through touch and movement, including muscle memory.
What is pitch?
A sound’s most audible frequency of vibration.
What is a ghost sign?
The persistence of a visual impression after the stimulus has been removed.
What is the nocturnal shift?
The tendency for urban wildlife to become more active at night when human activity is reduced.