The Diane Rehm Show

Studies show that the average person doesn’t notice 80 percent of what’s going on around him. Scientists say our lack of attention to detail has an evolutionary basis: it allowed early humans to quickly identify life-threatening situations. But this selective attention means we tune out most of what’s happening near us. A cognitive scientist thought she saw and heard everything on her daily walks around the block. But she learned how much she was missing after taking those walks with 11 experts, including a geologist, a naturalist, a blind woman and even her dog. How we can learn to see more, by looking and listening closely.