Visual Information Part I: Passive Vision

Chapter 4.2.4

Overview

• This presentation explores how we see (rather how we use our vision to see) and focuses on reporting what we see passively.

• In Chapter 4, Module Two, Section 7 (4.2.7) the presentation on discourse distinguished between figure and ground, as well as discussed a top-down approach to reporting.

• In this module we focus on ‘the ground’ & reasons for reporting it.

What You See

• As a beginning SSP you learned to use your vision to: – guide the DB person safely on errands,

– to communicate clearly about the goal of the particular trip, and

– to report what you saw.

• This involved areas of the store, sizes and prices.

• Now you are ready to move to the next level.

Passive vs. Active Vision

Using Our Vision

• We use our vision passively and actively.

• We use it passively when we are just walking down the street thinking about other things.

• We use it actively when we are specifically looking at something such as the material of the clothes we are purchasing.

Alternating

• We tend to alternate between passive seeing and active looking. For example, when we’re walking down the street we are probably not looking at anything in particular until something “catches our eye”; then we look at it more closely.

Active as Conscious

• The more familiar a scene, the more we see it passively. The more unfamiliar, the more we actively look around.

• Passive seeing is a way to monitor the environment for mobility (so we can move through it safely) and to be aware of meaningful changes.

Passive Looking and the SSP

• As an SSP you can report in a way that might be called ‘scanning’. As you walk down the street you identify the things you are passing.

• You could expand a bit as you identify by pausing then saying “Interesting,…” or other such discourse headers.

Scanning or Monitoring

Passive Sights and DB People

• Our environment changes incrementally all the time. The process is on-going. Grocery stores install self-check out, airports change the type of scanners they use, and so on.

• When DB people do not get such information regularly, they gradually fall further and further behind in changes in the world. It then becomes harder to catch them up.

Changes

• We notice little changes all the time which then become part of the familiar, and fall back into the background – they are no longer the focus.

• Have you ever left home for only two weeks and been surprised when you came home at the rate of change?

SSPs Scan

• When SSPs simply guide and do not continue providing information about the environment as they move through it, the DB person does not have the benefit of all the little changes that have taken place since they last walked down that street, such as the store that went out of business or is under new management, the new restaurant that has opened and so on.

Constant Change

• Even though we call this way of seeing passive, it stimulates our thinking and enters our consciousness at some level.

• It might be a scarf that confirms a fashion trend. You may half-consciously consider whether you want one.

Example

• In the next slide is a picture you have seen before. The purpose before was for you to notice what is in the foreground. This time, look at the background. What do you notice? Did you notice it before? What is significant about it (if anything)?

Things I Notice

• The crosswalk is especially well marked.

• There is a new condo building across the street.

• All the cars are a silver-grey color.

• The concrete seems wet but no standing water; trees are bare; no wind, people wearing coats.

• There’s an Indian restaurant a half-block away.

Things I Think

• The crosswalk: I heard on the radio that the new mayor is making pedestrian safety a priority.

• The condo: There are more and more condos being built in this area of town. Indeed, there is lots of current conversation about the problems that come with population density vs. those that are caused by urban sprawl.

Things I Think

• Silver cars: harder to see, especially in this cloudy, rainy weather and dark winter nights. Hmm, this runs contrary to the campaign for pedestrian safety.

• Wet concrete: I wonder if there is a smell particular to wet urban streets.

• Indian restaurant: I’ve never eaten Indian food, but then I’m not fond of spicy foods.

Making Connections

• The things I see passively fill in what I have already heard or know. They form the content of my conversations.

• What the SSP sees passively and what the SSP has previously learned can be useful information for the DB person.

• As the DB person has more access to information they become peers as well as clients.

Stream of Consciousness

• In this sense, my thoughts form a stream of consciousness.

• The DB person may have access to the news (e.g. the mayor’s new emphasis on pedestrian safety) and they may not.

• Whether to report what you think or not is a judgment call.

Seeing vs. Interpreting

• What you think is a personal interpretation of what you see.

• The important thing is to be clear on the difference between what you see and what it makes you think of.

• We’ll return to this when we talk about metaphor and metonymy.

Negotiating Meaning

Meaning is Constructed

• What anthropologists learn from studying multiple cultures is that we think about the world in different ways depending on our culture.

• Culture comes from the experience we have in a particular environment (time and place).

• The meaning of “Sign Language” is different now than it was 50 years ago before hearing people studied it.

Seeing and Interpreting

• We recognize what we have seen before.

• We know what it means in context.

• We interpret what we see through our own system of beliefs and values.

• As SSPs report what they see, you must be conscious of how familiar this may be for the DB person, the relevance of context and your own system of beliefs and values.

One to One: Interactive

• Work as an SSP is typically one SSP with one DB person (although this may be in a group of DB people).

• The DB person will respond to the SSP’s reporting. Thus reporting is often interactive.

• The response may be a sign of interest, silence, questions or comments based on their experience of the environment.

Response

• If the response is simple silence, check it out. Are you being clear? Are they pre-occupied with other thoughts? Are they bored, tired ...not interested?

When?

• So when is it good to provide ‘scanning’ type visual information? Pretty much any time you are out working as an SSP.

• There are exceptions, for example, you may be rushed and not have time. You may have a long assignment and need to conserve energy.

• The key point here is the importance of this seemingly meaningless information.

Conclusion

• Passive vision still provides us with information, especially as it alerts us to changes (often minor and insignificant at the time) in the environment.

• The SSP reports what is seen both passively and actively so that the DB person is kept up with these changes and does not gradually fall further and further behind.