Have you ever had an inspection on your project and the inspector picked out the smallest and most trivial items to have you correct but missed the most important items that should have and needed to be addressed?
Have you ever heard the statement, "I've stepped over a dollar bill on the floor to pick up a dime I could see sitting there"? It happens all of the time; believe me. Then as an inspector returning to the scene of the crime so to speak and darn it there's an infraction or correction that I missed. Then you have to explain to the contractor that, "Yes, Mr. Contractor, I missed it but now you're going to have to fix it".
The brain allows us to see what the brain wants us to see. Focus, focus and focus on the task yet sometimes we simply miss the train and get it wrong.
We know for a fact that we are trained to read from a early age and as we learn we then do it instinctively. Speaking for myself I have a hard time focusing especially when reading building code books but if you think about it you'll find it almost impossible to look at a word and not really read it.
Have you heard about the Stroop Effect. When words for one color are printed in another color and people are asked what color the words is printed in people get confused. For instance if the word "green" is printed in blue ink, your eyes see blue, your brain will thinks green. Okay, for some of us it takes us a little longer than others until we sort it out. So, in psychology, the Stroop Effect is a demonstration of interference in the reaction time of a task.
Here's a test for you:
THE PAOMNNEHAL PWEOR OF THE HMUAN MNID
"Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe."
So, the moral of the article is don't always blame yourself or the inspector if something is missed on your next inspection.
YOU ARE A GOOD INSPECTOR IF YOU CAN ACTUALLY READ THIS
7H15 M3554G3
53RV35 70 PR0V3
H0W 0UR M1ND5 C4N
D0 4M4Z1NG 7H1NG5!
1MPR3551V3 7H1NG3!
1N 7H3 B3G1NN1NG
17 WA5 H4RD BU7
Y0UR M1ND 1S
R34D1NG 17
4U70M471C4LLY
W17H 0U7 3V3N
7H1NK1NG 4B0U7 17,
B3 PR0UD! 0NLY
C3R741N P39PL3 C4N
R3AD 7H15
Y0UR’3 4N 1N5P3C70R
Of course this is only this inspector's opinion. :)
