Lessons in Seeing
Can you really see ?
Back in 2006, when I seriously believed WWE was as real as it gets, I was obsessed with John Cena. Sure, his good looks didn’t hurt, but it was his epic entrances and that iconic tagline, “You can’t see me,” that got me. (Honestly, I can’t remember anything about his actual ‘wrestling’ skills. I just loved the entrance).
Maybe John Cena was onto something with that "You can’t see me" catchphrase, because even years later, I sometimes misread or misinterpret things that are staring me right in the face. Case in point: Can you pronounce this name? G B E N R O. If you’re Nigerian or Yoruba, you’ve probably got it down. But if not, it might be a bit difficult. It’s pronounced /gbeyinro/, but for the longest time, I was convinced it was G B E N E R O—like /gbenero/. And that’s all I saw every time I tried to read the name.
Of course, there’s an evolutionary reason our brains love to simplify visual information. Our ancestors lived in environments where making quick decisions was the difference between dinner and being dinner. So, simplifying what we see helped speed up our reaction times. Our brains still work like this—our expectations and past knowledge shape how we interpret things, leading us to skip over details or make assumptions.
And that’s exactly why most people struggle with drawing. Sure, there’s more to it, like developing motor skills—getting that precise hand control to translate what you see onto paper. But the real issue is that people who can’t draw haven’t truly learned to see what they’re looking at. To overcome this, you have to train your brain to see an object or image as it truly is—rather than what you know it to be. It’s not a cup, a face, or a car; it’s simply just lines and spaces in relation to each other.
A great way to train your brain to see differently is by drawing the image upside down. You’d be amazed at how much better your drawing turns out when your brain focuses on lines and shapes instead of the familiar object.
This video explains it a lot better.
Here’s an attempt of the exercise below.
To truly understand and engage with the world around us, we need to challenge our biases and train our minds to look beyond the familiar. It’s only by doing this that we can truly see what’s right in front of us.
Until next time.
Dubem.