They say smart people are those that notice patterns. Things that are relevant to us in an ever more complex world. They say smart people are able to connect the dots and make deliberate concise conclusions.
It is in fact just the opposite! In a complex world the challenge is to ignore things. To disregard that which is irrelevant in a mountain of false patterns.
Gregory (Scotland Yard detective): “Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention?”
Holmes: “To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.”
Gregory: “The dog did nothing in the night-time.”
Holmes: “That was the curious incident.”
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
In removing, not adding. In knowing what did not happen. In knowing what not to do allows one lucidity. A man of vision can in fact be blind to what others see and in so doing has clarity.
Sea's The Day 