Yogi Berra once said, "You can observe a lot just by watching." Or maybe it was "You can hear a lot just by listening." I don't remember precisely, because when Yogi's quip came out of my clock radio, I was madly looking for my car keys (which were in my hand the whole time).
So what makes Yogi's aphorism—whatever it was—so maddeningly true? How can we look directly at things and not see them? The answer is that your brain perceives the world through what amounts to a mental "soda straw." When it aims that straw at one thing, all other objects—even those within your direct field of vision—recede into the background.
Experiment:
Your brain calls up remembered images through the same conduit it uses to take them in live. Close your eyes and visualize everything inside your living room, including the furniture, walls, and artwork. As you scan your ...
