(Image illustrated and designed by Bjorn Corning)
Today we live in a world both full of information and full of distractions. While on one side of the coin, one may say it’s easier than ever to learn new things and find out information. On the other hand, we are bombarded with content online which can be disruptive to our focus and observational skills.
Without being able to observe the world around you, you cannot learn to do art or science in its purest form. Being able to better control one’s aperture of focus will help us observe, reason, and enter flow states more easily while working.
For this reason, it is important to practice skills of mindfulness, focus, and to learn to regulate how we interact with our modern technology in the age of informational abundance.
While on the quest to attain skill and knowledge, we should endeavor to observe the world and be mindful of our experiences.
AI, for example, can only mimic the data it’s trained on—it lacks the ability to directly observe the world. This isn’t to say we should ignore technology, media, or the vast wealth of written knowledge online and in print. It is simply to be aware that while reviewing literature is research, it is not scientific research.
AI is a powerful tool. It can be used like an algorithmic crystal ball for those who are curious about the knowledge which is already recorded and debated. Technology like AI is good as long as it is used as a tool to optimize—not as a crutch for laziness.
A problem in scientific academia is the over-focus on peer-reviewed papers. While literature reviews are important for generating hypotheses and learning about what research has already been done, they don’t replace observation, testing, and deductive reasoning.
Ecologist Alan Savory talks about how the overemphasis on peer-reviewed papers has been a detriment to scientific study, saying, “People coming out of a university with a Master’s degree or a PhD… literally don’t believe anything unless it’s a peer-reviewed paper. It’s the only thing they accept. And you say to them… let’s observe, let’s think, let’s discuss. They don’t do it.”
A laboratory may be a great place for a scientist to test a hypothesis in a controlled environment. This is useful for making particular observations and testing specific things. However, the world is not a controlled environment.
A scientist should also venture out of the lab and conduct field research to observe the world. This may even help the scientist think more creatively about how the lab could simulate the real world with controls involved. Nothing is perfect, but at least they left the lab to conduct research in the field as well as in the lab.
In the liberal arts world, studying literature and history is the bread and butter. This is important because such study helps expand people’s minds to the limitless possibilities, philosophies, and lessons of humanity’s past, stories, and psychology.
History provides a foundation for understanding much about the world. Although, most people who study history, philosophy, and literature realize at some point that they have to put down the book and live in the real world. We have to apply or test what we learn, discover, experience, and accomplish new things.
If you are someone who is primarily working on creative projects, you should also at times leave the studio. You should go outside, out into the world, and see what you can learn. This practice will make your work more meaningful and insightful. You may even come up with new ideas and discover new solutions to problems.
On our journey toward wisdom and art, we must learn to mindfully observe the world around us. We cannot just live in the tasks that we put before us every day.
Technology is not to be shunned, nor should we use it as an excuse for laziness or endless content consumption. Instead, it should be used conscientiously. It is useful to sometimes step away from our technological tools and use our natural faculties.
Our simple and complex human experiences can bring benefits that we often dismiss. You may even be surprised by what you learn by just being with yourself, being mindful of your psychological states, physical states, and observing the world around you.
If you found this interesting, feel free to checkout my portfolio. I’m available for hire for all your creative, product design, marketing, and branding needs.
Portfolio Link:
https://v0-bjorn-corning-portfolio-6ga26avls-bjorncodings-projects.vercel.app/
