Imagine that you witnessed a purse snatching but only saw the perpetrator briefly amongst a crowd of other people. How well would you have perceived and remembered the details of that criminal in order to describe him to the police? Probably not very well.
Of course, if the purse-snatcher was wearing a tuxedo while perpetrating the crime at a local fast-food joint then the strange and conspicuous nature of the situation might be easier for you to remember. However, if the criminal snatched the purse while wearing a tuxedo at a black-tie event then he would likely blend in with the other people and be much more difficult to differentiate and remember.
Our Hawk Eye exercise can be of particular help in situations where you need to quickly notice subtle visual details by improving your visual precision. Hawk Eye enables your brain to swiftly and accurately perceive, and then later recall, those details. Your visual precision is ultimately what enables you to remember the details of a movie you saw, a home you viewed during an ‘open house’, a wedding you attended, or other destinations you visit. By accurately remembering details you’ll be able to both discuss and take-action based on those details later.
Take the example of house hunting. If you and your spouse spent an entire day viewing ten different homes with your realtor would you be able to recall the different details of each house? When your spouse asks, “did you like the colour of the front door on the King Street house?” would you even know what he or she was talking about? Did you notice the door? Could you distinguish the King Street door from the other nine doors you saw that day so that you can have a conversation with your spouse about it? Improving your visual precision will help you feel sharper and more engaged so you can be ready for these types of situations.
Our scientists designed Hawk Eye to exercise your visual precision and improve it by asking you to locate specific birds in your peripheral vision, even if briefly flashing on your screen.
As you practice and your skills improve you’ll observe the following changes in the exercise:
- Initially fairly distinct birds will appear close together on a simple background.
- Eventually your brain will need to recognize finer distinctions as bird pairs become more similar.
- Your brain will be pushed to identify details farther from the centre of visual attention as the birds spread further apart.
- Your brain will need to notice subtle differences even as the background becomes more complex causing visual interference.
- The birds will appear on screen for a decreasing amount of time as you improve – even as the bird pairs, backgrounds, and bird locations on screen change.
By mastering the Hawk Eye exercise you’ll be able to report to police the exact details of that nasty purse-snatcher should you ever be witness to such an incident in the future.