We have often talked about how Sir Robert Baden-Powell wrote Scouting for Boys in 1908 when London boys started reading his 1899 military book on reconnaissance and surveillance called Aids to Scouting for Non-Commissioned Officers and Men. You may not know that Baden-Powell published many books and was an accomplished artist. He wrote and sketched to make extra money to supplement his military pay. His sixth book is called Adventures of a Spy. It chronicles his time as an intelligence officer for the British Empire. During one of his missions, he pretended to be an entomologist (an insect expert) and was sneaking around Dalmatia with a butterfly net and a sketch book drawing pictures of fortifications and gun emplacements. Stopped and searched numerous times by foreign military and officials, all they could find was a notebook full of pictures of butterflies and leaves, an believed him to be an entomologist. If they had looked closer, they would have found that he had hidden in the patterns of the butterfly wings and veins of the leaves detailed maps of their military strong points.
Those officials missed what was hidden in plain sight; they showed poor attention to detail. If they had looked closer, they would have recognized the patterns and taken Baden-Powell into custody. Fortunately for Scouting, that was not the case.
If you read his works, you will find that many of Baden-Powell's early instruction was games to improve attention to detail. If you have ever played Kim's Game, where you are shown a collection of items for a few moments, then are led away to recount what you saw, then you are playing a game designed by Baden-Powell. It is interesting to note that Scouts are not the only one who plays this game – the US Marine Corps Sniper School and British Royal Marines Commandos also practice this memory test to improve attention to detail.
Attention to detail is invaluable in life. It helps us Be Prepared. It provides an advantage to the person that possesses attention to details and it is a trait that many employers treasure. I encourage you to pursue how closely you pay to details. Having superior attention to detail can change your life.
I will keep myself mentally sharp.