THINKING AS CONSIDERING

It began with a conversation about fishing. Two brothers begin talking about the type of strategies necessary to be a successful fisherman. The first brother tells the other about the importance of thinking in being able to fish. The second brother asks what he means by “thinking.” The first responds, “All there is to thinking is seeing something noticeable which makes you see something you weren’t noticing which makes you see something that isn’t even visible...” (Book, A River Runs Through it, by Norman Maclean)

This reminds me of the quip from the field of Gestalt Psychology on perception: It’s amazing how much you can see when you start noticing. It’s also amazing how much we miss simply because we were preoccupied with something.