Visual Intelligence

 Shirley J.                  Adult Non-Fiction                   Improving how you see things through viewing art

Visual Intelligence: Sharpen Your Perception, Change Your Life by Amy E. Herman    336 pages

This is an amazing book!  You will learn so much from it, I cannot praise it highly enough!  You will learn when looking at anything in your world going forward:  how to see objectively rather than subjectively, how to recognize any bias you may have even if you hadn't realized it before - how our upbringing, our tribe and our environment imprints on us even when we don't know or mean for it too and how to overcome it.  You will learn to say more by saying less.   Amy Herman teaches you how not to miss vital things when observing.  Tiny seemingly insignificant things can be the clue that solves cases for police, FBI, etc. as well as laymen in every day life needing answers.  As Sir Arthur Conan Doyle observed in his Sherlock Holmes character, the fact that the dog didn't bark when the murderer entered told him it knew the murderer.  Doctors have learned to observe their patients instead of the charts.  She has taught teachers and social workers to see the child and the parents involved not the behavior or state of appearance.  One example she cites is a photo of a dark skinned woman holding a very white child with curly blond hair and bright blue eyes.   She asked the class she was teaching her (books) principles to to tell her what they saw.   A social worker told her she was prejudiced making a big deal of the woman's brown skin holding a white child.  Just because their skins were different didn't mean they weren't related.  Amy replied to the class, that she wasn't prejudiced, the child is her son and the lady is their nanny who they all dearly.  The woman apologized but this brought up a good example of how our bias can enfluence how we see things and was a good teaching moment.   There are so many true stories and examples here that emphasize how we need to look deeper and fuller at everything we observe to see what matters most and to see clearer than we ever have before.  That is just the tip of the iceberg.   There is so much more to learn here.   I recommend this to middle schoolers on up, it is never too early to learn to be observant in life to all that is around you.