How do you increase perception?

[diplomatic_lies]

Is there a way to increase your perceptiveness? Like how fast you are able to pick up little things, etc.

Is there like any training exercises for these? I'm trying to get myself to be much more perceptive than I normally am.

[violent]

i think u need to explain the question a little better

[xyzzy]

Remember that scene in 36th Chamber of Shaolin, where the monk in training has the two burning posts on the sides of his head and has to watch an object with his eyes and not his head otherwise he will get burned?

[diplomatic_lies]

What I mean is how you can increase the sharpness of your eyes. Like how quickly you can see something (e.g. if your boss tells you to find that screw he lost in the room, you can search with your eyes and quickly find it without any difficulty).

Like training to find a needle in a haystack.


xyxxy: Little uncertain what you mean. What did the monk do? And what was the object he had to watch?

[Aiken_Drum]

Exercising has given me better reflexes.

[xyzzy]

lol, I havent seen that kung fu movie for years, so I could be way off here. Basically in one of the chambers the monk has to improve his perception so that he can defend himself against attackers comming from nowhere.

So the master moves a tea kettle tied to a string on a pole (?) and forces the monk to watch it with his eyes and not move his head. If he moves his head he gets burned by two burning posts. Anyway your question just reminded me of that scene.

You could try those old games where you look at a busy image for 5 seconds then have to put it away and write down/draw everything you remember.

[DJKondor]

have you ever seen the bourne identity, where he can tell you all that stuff from just looking outside, they learn to do that kind of stuff in the military by doing what is said in the above post

[Kingnicii]

I read the topic and i would like to add some links to help all those that get directed to this page in their search efforts.

http://www.braintrainingpuzzle.co.uk/perception-training.php
- Small mini game to increase perception

http://webhome.idirect.com/~kehamilt/ipsyperc.html
- Perception and The Self (Best i have found yet)

[another_nice_guy]

martial arts.

I remember when I was really into training at the age of 18 no-one got a punch in. :up:

[Da Realist]

The only way I've found is through exercise or training for a sport that requires correct movements quickly the martial arts, football, or weightlifting. Basically it comes down to first getting fundamentals downs and then your mind switching from concentrating on just movements to also picking up other information.

In football, it's learning how to run from a stance and how to block or tackle to seeing why this person is moving a certain way and how to counter it. For karate, you learn katas and after you get that down, it's almost like moving meditation because your body flows while your mind can be a million miles away. Even with running your body goes into autopilot while your mind is focused elsewhere.

If you want to increase your perception, I'd say just get into some type of fitness plan that requires explosive movements and then maybe spend a little time out your day noticing what is all around you. That way you're used to shifting your body on a moments notice and while you're in the zone, you can pick up on stuff that you've already noticed that can signal something.

[Quiksilver]

Reflex training ... Play reflex-based sports like squash/tennis, martial arts helps, and video games help to some extent.

I would say honestly I have a very high perception/awareness of everything around me, though I can't say whether it is natural or whether I developed it playing reflex-based sports.

Getting a good nights sleep also helps ;)

[Alle_Gory]

Pattern recognition and reflex training.

Pattern recognition, I have no f*cking clue. Some people can't pick out a needle out of a haystack because they can't see it even if its right in front of them.

But reflex training would help. Martial arts require you to make fast decisions. Pretty much any combat sport would do. Paintball, boxing, kickboxing... etc. Eventually, you build up that mental speed and accuracy.