Try the following experiment:
- Hold up your two index fingers to form an ’11’ about 30cm in front of your nose.
- How slowly increase the gap between your finders until they are at the edge of your peripheral vision. Estimate the width of your field of view
Now do the same for the vertical axis.
- Hold your fingers in front of you to make an ‘=’ sign.
- Move one hand up and the other down until your fingers are at the top and bottom of your peripheral vision. Estimate the height of your field of view.
- Multiply the height and the width to give a measure of your field of view.
- Now estimate the area of the screen of the device that you use to do your creative work.
- Divide the area of your screen by the area of your field of vision. The answer is the proportion of your field of view you use when you do your creative work.
For me my regular screen is just 1/20 of my field of vision. My phone screen is 1/150 of my field of vision.
A narrow field of vision is ideal for focusing in on a problem.
But if we want to open things up, then we need to be able to see more widely.