Bell’s Sherlockian summation: “Most people see but do not observe.” What’s the difference? Doyle had Sherlock Holmes himself explain it in one of his first published short stories, “A Scandal in Bohemia,” when Dr. Watson claimed to have eyes just as good as Holmes’s. Holmes countered, “You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear. For example, you have frequently seen the steps which lead up from the hall to this room.” “Frequently.” “How often?” “Well, some hundreds of times.” “Then how many are there?” “How many? I don’t know.” “Quite so! You have not observed. And yet you have seen. That is just my point. Now, I know that there are seventeen steps, because I have both seen and observed.” Although we frequently use the terms interchangeably, seeing can be thought of as the automatic, involuntary recording of images. Observing is seeing, but consciously, carefully, and thoughtfully.

Rushing leads to mistakes, and mistakes slow you down far more than slowing down does.