How to spot a blind spot?
This is the story of one of the most famous posters in the world.
Until 1862, the best way to assess eye-sight was to show patients posters with sentences of different sizes. The literate ones could often guess words even if they couldn't see them. Whereas the illiterate couldn't read a word!
Enter Dr. Herman Snellen of The Netherlands. He invented the version we all now know as the standard eye chart. The one with the massive E on top. The poster is today one of the most recognisable medical objects in the world.
The poster also gave rise to the phrase "20/20 vision". This means "normal" vision at a "normal" distance. And the phrase "hindsight is 20/20".
In the year 2020, we understand a lot about sight and what makes it 'normal'. But what about Blind Spots?
Enter Conscious Incompetence
We all have blind spots of the cognitive kind. These are things we don't know much about, don't understand, or don't think about. And sometimes, they bite us where it hurts.
A simple way to think about is to use a 2x2 matrix of Conscious/Unconscious vs Competent/Incompetent. Blind Spots fall into Unconscious Incompetence, also known as "I didn't even know that I didn't know this".
These blind spots could be valuable ideas and opportunities, scary pitfalls, or even things about you that are visible to everyone except you. It's like finding out that you had a piece of food stuck to your chin all day.
Is there an eye chart for spotting Blind Spots?
Not that we know of. But, this year, try the following ideas to uncover your blind spots:
Actively listen to people you don't know well: These could be younger/older people, those from a different culture, and so on.
Seek out 'disagreeableness': Do you instinctively recoil from a point of view, a way of thinking and acting, or from topics others think of as taboo? See how you can approach them in a safe way - the goal is to learn and not to contest. (Social media can actually help you do this.)
Change your reading/viewing sources: Randomize your inputs. Go to a magazine store and buy one issue of a title you've never bought before. Reset your Netflix profile to get other recommendations.
'Platonically Speed Date' courses, forums, and interesting people: Sign-up for courses or events. Have coffee with someone who is doing interesting things. Try one lesson, one meetup, one interaction. You don't have to commit to anything long-term. The downside is just an hour.
Put stuff out there and get effective feedback: You are rarely the best judge of your work. Construct a 'challenge network' and use them wisely. But for that, you also put your work 'out there' to be critiqued.
And what would you add to this list? Leave us a note - we'd love to know.