Role of Brain-Eye Size in Corporate

When compared to many birds, the owls have large forward facing eyes, located in the socket. Unlike other birds, owls hence cannot move their eyes. Although the forward facing eyes helps the owl to have great binocular vision, to see around, owl has to turn its head whereas other birds can easily turn their eyes.

This is all about the eyes of owls. Another interesting fact is that the eyes of the owl are larger than their brain. The disproportionate eye-brain size definitely creates a great limitation to owls. Such limitation of the owl also conveys a strong management message to the corporate.

The large eyes of the owl could although gather great information (can see things well) but the small brain cannot process such large optical data gathered by the large eyes.

Scientists have discovered that owls learning capability when compared to other birds are poor. The disproportionate eye-brain size has been attributed as reason for the above.

Larger eyes although may gather great information but large brain is inevitable to process the above optical data.

In corporate, some people quickly understand the projects or work details whereas some may struggle to understand. Many corporate leaders and bosses quickly make judgment of the former group of people to be smart, intelligent or highly capable and the later group to be bit dull. Former group of people may be like the large eyes of an owl. They could quickly receive large amount of optical data, but that may seldom get processed.

The debate is not about whom, the former group of people or the later are intelligent. The question is whether those who quickly receive or understand are also really good in implementation or execution also? This is what the corporate must introspect. The paradox or anomaly has to be understood clearly.

The anomaly in owls clearly explains to the corporate man as how he should not get lost in wrong understanding. Judgment should be made out of understanding and not from the mere seeing level.

Definitely the large eyes help any animal to see things better. But what is seen has to be processed by the brain only then 'from seeing, understanding' and 'from understanding, the right interpretation' is possible. For that, the size of the brain has to be bigger than the eyes. The subtle differences in our understanding can cause great consequences.

Therefore, the subtle differences need not be truly 'subtle' is what the disproportionate eye-brain equation of the owl has to prove.

Dr S Ranganathan, ClinRise Derma Pvt., Ltd., Chennai