It's obvious

Many things tend to be obvious only after we get them pointed out to us. On our drive through the mountains we pass through the Eisenhower tunnel. Terri and I have been making that drive for decades, yet I just noticed a sign in the middle of the tunnel that reads: 'Continental Divide'. Now it's obvious and I cannot help noticing it, but in all past trips it never existed for me. And yes, it's been there since 1978. I find the same thing with music and stereos. I can hear a piece hundreds of times and not notice some subtle detail. Someone will point it out to me and then I can never not notice it. This happens with us humans for a reason: between 30 and 40% of all we observe, whether through hearing or seeing is made up. It isn't really there; our brains filling in the data from memory. In fact, we cannot see and hear 100% of what's around us, our brains simply do not have the processing power to make that happen. It's where the word 'focu's comes from, narrowing down our field of perception to focus; to actively ignore other stimuli. When you look at a forest, you're eye/brain mechanism isn't recording every tree; much of the details filled in from memory. Stare at the ground or an old asphalt road and each detail present is not observed, only the parts relevant to why you're looking. When we listen to music, especially familiar music, we fill in much of what we hear in the same manner and for the same reason as I described for sight. The important take away here is not to trust all that you hear and see as absolute. They may seem obvious and apparent, but they're not always real. This can hamper our abilities for critical evaluation. I just wanted to point this out so it'll be obvious to you.