1. Prompt: Respond to a moment of discovery/learning/epiphany about noticing which emerges for you either from a reading or discussion in class. This post should demonstrate that you’ve engaged with the course material in a way which moves beyond describing what the author or someone else said. This post should lead you to a question or query which you will explore through making.
Initially, the idea of ‘noticing’ seems quite basic and straightforward. Every day we go through noticing things, realising some and sometimes not. However, even after our first discussion about what we notice, it came to my attention that the whole prospect of what we are conscious and aware of, actually says a lot about us. The reading touched on the fact that, individually, we are all susceptible to notice different things. The idea that we can be ‘professionally sensitised’ to different stimuli based on our hobbies, professions and practises, really got me thinking. I think of myself, generally, as a pretty forgetful, oblivious person- failing to notice certain signs or people around me, which others would usually pick up on. However, when sat down, thinking about what I noticed on the way to class, I found that a lot of things actually enter my conscious thoughts throughout the day- that I perhaps don’t make much a deal out of. This poses a major question: As a media student, what is it that I notice more than others may? I’m hoping that in the next few tutorials and practicals, an answer to this question, no matter how abstract, will be found.
I think throughout this topic there will also be opportunities to further engage with our own noticing. By this, I mean, having a greater control of what you are consciously aware of, and maybe becoming accustomed to noticing things you never used to. I found that even this initial task one has already helped me somewhat in doing so. Similar to being ‘professionally sensitised’ to certain things, I feel like repeated exposure and repeated conscious awareness of specific stimuli would eventually result in noticing a lot more.