Robin Harford

This act of “really looking” is deceptive. It requires an almost “unlooking” to see closely, a kind of defocusing. Because: We tend to see in groups, not details. We scan an image or scene for the gist, but miss a richness of particulars. I suspect this has only gotten worse in recent years as our Daily Processed Information density has increased, ... See more

"Layer after layer of civilized life seems to have veiled our directness of seeing. We often look for an underlying meaning of things while the thing itself is the meaning. Intellectual interpretation may hinder our intuitive insight. Here education should undo the damage and bring us back to receptive simplicity. It is obvious that a solely intell... See more

“The environment consists of opportunities for perception, of available information, of potential stimuli. Not all opportunities are grasped, not all information is registered, not all stimuli excite receptors. But what the environment affords an individual in the way of discrimination is enormous, and this should be our first consideration.” (Jame... See more

"Where the the Life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?" (T.S. Eliot)

"The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common. What is a day? What is a year? What is summer? What is woman? What is a child? What is sleep? To our blindness, these things seem unaffecting. We make fables to hide the baldness of the fact and conform it, as we say, to the higher law of the mind. But when the fact is seen unde... See more

"Listening is something that gets more enjoyable the more you surrender to it. Exploring located sound has also made me a more attentive music listener. I think fine-tuning the ear makes you alert to other senses as well and that, if you let it, this could lead you to reflect on your perception and its limitations. Listening can be an exercise in e... See more

“Every object, well contemplated, opens up a new organ within us.” (Goethe)

“Layer after layer of civilized life seems to have veiled our directness of seeing. We often look for an underlying meaning of things while the thing itself is the meaning. Intellectual interpretation may hinder our intuitive insight. Here education should undo the damage and bring us back to receptive simplicity. It is obvious that a solely intell... See more