The art of artisinal observation

MiG 15 cockpit. Image: Combatace

We are creatures shaped by our senses. What we see determines what we feel, and the other way round. What we see and feel determines what we think and what we think determines our actions. Observing is a critical skill.

Yet, despite the fact observation has so much impact on our lives, we pay so little attention to it. When we're busy, we're so busy doing that noticing takes second place - if we're lucky.

In John Boyd's OODA loop, the first "O" is observation for a reason. He derived his model from his own observation in Korea that despite having an inferior aircraft (the F86 Sabre versus the Russian MiG 15) the Americans won nine out of ten encounters because, he worked out, it had a bubble canopy offering all round visibility rather than the MiG's more enclosed forward facing one. The Sabre had better all round vision. It was that simple - the pilot could see more of what was was going on around him than his Russian opponent.

We don't learn that well. In…