Ability to learn and detect danger

"Military researchers have found that two groups of soldiers are particularly good at spotting danger: hunters from the countryside and those who grew up in tough urban areas, where it is often important to know which gang controls which neighborhood." writes Tony Perry in the Los Angeles Times.

A common factor seems to be experience of life outside the home and outside the 'tech bubble', in an environment that requires better use of the senses. Sergeant Major Todd Burnett, who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan, led the research. The eighteen-month study of 800 soldiers has found that the best bombers were people from rural areas, used to hunting. "They just seemed to notice things in a better way". The other soldiers, with an interest in video games, who spent weekends at the mall, lacked the ability to see the nuances required to detect a hidden bomb. Although they had perfect vision, they lacked the special ability to use a combination of depth perception, peripheral vision, and instinct to detect what was wrong with the environment.

The explanation may be partly physiological. Australian researchers suggest that the worrying increase in myopia is linked to children and young people spending less time outdoors, with their eyes focusing on longer distances. The same applies to hearing, smell and the sense of where the body is in space. In a natural environment, these qualities simultaneously enhance learning and avoidance of danger. Perhaps most importantly, however, the combined qualities provide a better ability to engage more fully with life.