Jane Goodall is a world-renowned wild chimpanzee researcher and environmental activist, and a biologist who completely reformed the existing map of animal ethology by first discovering the ability of primates to use tools by directly interacting with chimpanzees in the Gombe jungle in Africa for decades. Every day, she climbed through the early morning fog and sat atop the steep cliffs of Gombe, Africa. She completely silenced the noise of her actions so that the chimpanzees would not be wary of her. And I quietly observed the chimpanzee’s fine hair-picking movements, the rhythm of its fingertips using tree branch tools, and the blinking of its eyes through a telescope, and recorded the facts along with drawings in a pocket notebook.
Today on BuildSelf, we introduce the cognitive scientific principles of the habit of ‘sitting on a rock next to a group of chimpanzees and recording the micro-habits of wild chimpanzees’ and a 3-step guide that modern people can easily practice in their daily lives.
Historical & Academic Evidence
This content is based on Jane Goodall, *In the Shadow of Man* (1971) & Cognitive Neuroscientific Studies.
1. Analysis of the brain science principles that lead to success
The training of staring silently at an object for a long time with extremely objective attention without intervening to manipulate the external object sharply activates the brain’s sensory association cortex and selective sensory connection network. The process of inputting fine trajectories beyond the telescope into the brain and structuring them in real time into analog sentences or pictures strengthens the brain’s fine sensory resolution, enhancing advanced insight perception abilities that preemptively capture clues that pass by in daily life or hidden trends in the business market.
2. 3-Step Practical Routine for Modern Professionals
Step 1: Environment settings and tool settings
Carefully select one trivial object that is commonly passed by in the surrounding environment every afternoon or on the way to work (e.g., the leaves of a street tree swaying in the wind, the curve of a mug in a cafe, etc.). Leave your smartphone on silent.
Step 2: Projection and practice of complete senses
Gaze quietly and with high concentration for two minutes at the current shape of the selected object, the irregular light and shade of the texture, and the fine stretching structure of the leaf veins, as if looking through a magnifying glass.
Step 3: Objective gaze and meta-organization
The three microscopic physical characteristics of the object realized through observation are clearly summarized in a visual information map as if taking a picture in the mind and stored in the notebook of the mind.
3. Behavioral science advice for successful settlement
Do not use your brain to immediately logically evaluate or classify what you observe. Focus on cleansing your sensory receptors by capturing the physical depth and light as it is in your brain.
📌 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Can I take a smartphone photo of something I observe with my eyes and analyze it? ▼
No. Images on digital screens are just compressed 2D pixels and do not activate the brain's stereoscopic perception neural network. You must be able to decipher the depth and texture of analog objects in three dimensions with your eyes to promote sensory neuron plasticity in your brain.
Should we only observe static and boring objects? ▼
Precisely analyzing the trace of a pet cat's tail trembling, the movement of the fins of a fish in a fish tank, etc. is also a very good exercise that sharply awakens the brain's selective attention circuit.
