The Patterns You Miss | by Maia Gonzalez
Numbers, letters, shapes, sounds. There are patterns and trends everywhere, yet they’re so easy to overlook.
Do you ever catch yourself thinking: Is there something that I’m missing? Maybe you’re missing more than just the needle in the haystack. Becoming more aware of the patterns around you may help you unlock some real-life cheats or bonus points, like how to level up your language learning or how to guarantee you’ll get your dream breakfast every time.
If you want to learn how to become more receptive to patterns and accelerate your learning and attention to detail, read on…
What Does Pattern Recognition Mean?
Picture this - you’ve arrived at work at 09:00 am. You realise: Hey! I could do with some breakfast! So you head down to the canteen, make your way to the hot food, and realise there are no more eggs. No biggie you think. But then every day for the next few weeks the same thing happens. Except, on a random Thursday where you managed to get in for 08:30 am - and lo and behold, you managed to get some eggs! Voila! You’ve just spotted a pattern.
IF TIME OF ENTRY is GREATER THAN 09:00 am
THEN NO EGGS
(Based on a true story BTW!)
What Does Pattern Recognition Help With? :
- Attention to detail
- Critical Thinking
- Problem Solving
- Learning Fast
It seems a bit broad especially when the first example I gave was about whether you can get in time to get eggs for breakfast! But, let’s focus on some more practical scenarios (not that eggs are not practical!):
Language Learning:
Be it a programming language or a human language - understanding trends and patterns can significantly speed up your ability to learn and more importantly to utilise a new language.
It’s no secret that people already familiar with two or more human languages find it easier to pick up more languages - especially if the root is the same e.g. Latin languages. This is because they are:
A) Accustomed to picking up patterns in general and
B) Able to compare patterns across multiple languages which then helps them to make rational decisions about a new language obstacle. E.g. Verb endings changing with tenses based on verb endings or pronouns
This is also applicable to Programming languages:
For example, a common element used is IF clauses. If there is an IF of sorts used, then there must also be a THEN of sorts! (Sorry in advance to my proofreader for that sentence).
In Excel, the THEN is a comma [IF( A=B, 1)]
In Python, the THEN is an indentation after the IF
IF A = B:
print(“A is equal to B”)
In SQL - the IF is a CASE statement. The THEN is a THEN.
CASE
WHEN A = B THEN 1
ELSE 0
END;
And so on.
Maybe think of examples in your life where observing patterns more closely could elevate what or how you’re doing those things!
Got the same customer calling in every Tuesday about the same issue?
Why always on a Tuesday? Why does it keep affecting the same customer? Could spotting the pattern here help you uncover an issue potentially affecting numerous customers? Could this help enhance their customer experience?
Seeing a drop in sales at certain points of the month/year?
Is this due to stock levels / stock range / staff levels / school holidays / the season/ website issues/ payment issues etc? Could spotting the pattern mean more sales and better customer experience?
Image source here
Becoming One With Patterns:
So, I’ve told you about patterns, trends, how they can help, and some examples. But, how does one actually become at one with patterns?
To understand, you must first grasp one more thing:
Word search!
When was the last time you did a word search? (If you want some examples see here)
If you haven’t done one in a while, I strongly recommend it and maybe try the following:
- First, set your parameters. Find two-word searches that have the same level of difficulty and the same number of words. Also, find out how the words will be hidden. Some are only horizontally and vertically - but some do crazy things like spelling words backwards and going diagonally. Don’t set yourself up for failure by not understanding the rules! Do one how you usually do them - if you want, you can even time yourself doing it. (Go off and do it before reading more).
- Then before starting your next one, scan through all the words at the bottom. Identify any that have letters that are less common in the language you choose to do your word search in. E.g. E is the most common letter, but letters like V and Z aren’t. Look out for words that have patterns e.g. Swimming - look at the ING or the double M.
- Now look at your jumbled letters and scan over the table. Try not to be too hyper-focused. It’s a general scan just to familiarise yourself with the lay of the land. (I like to think this is similar to how before you jump into the sea, it’s best to splash yourself with some water so you don’t go into shock).
- Begin searching for words, starting first with the patterns you’ve established. Scan for the uncommon letters first and try to link letter by letter together, then go broader.
Take smaller sample sizes, and focus on sections at a time instead of all at once. Once you find a few, zoom out and assess where the words are. Are there large gaps where words could be hidden still? Do words tend to overlap? What words am I missing? etc.
Try rotating the page or covering sections and then revising them again.
Continue until you’ve found all the words.
What you may find is, maybe this took you a bit longer than your usual method. It may be a new technique for you and that’s why it took longer. Or maybe, you were already doing your searches like this, but you didn’t quite recognise the importance of what you were doing. Maybe you’re thinking PLEASE just get to the point!
My point is - what you have just done (or may have - it’s okay if you didn’t participate - I won’t hold it against you) is to make yourself more susceptible to recognising patterns! Each step outlines a different process that will help you to find, understand and utilise the patterns around you.
So, let’s put it into non-word-search terms. Without further ado, I present you with:
“Maia’s Key Steps to Becoming One With Patterns”
1) Understand what you are doing in principle / PLAN
Plan for success not failure. Understand what your parameters are.
Understand the context. What is common and what is not? Look around and make some initial connections.
Don’t go straight into verb tenses when you don’t know the verbs or the pronouns!
Don’t go straight into reading Python scripts without understanding key statements.
Don’t try making a scarf without the basic tools you need for it.
Don’t try analysing your data without understanding what the data is about!
Don’t jump into the water without checking if there are rocks, jellyfish, or if it’s freezing! Or if the water looks black, the sky is grumbling and no one else is going for a swim - DON’T GO FOR A SWIM!
2) DO NOT HYPER FOCUS
Instead, zoom in and zoom out. Take a step back. Take a break. Sing what you see.
Isolate specific words in your code - but then try to understand what it means in terms of the bigger picture also.
Write your essay, leave it, focus on a paragraph, leave it, read it all in full and assess.
3) Challenge Assumptions / Leave Behind the Bias
Making connections is good but it can sometimes traverse into the realm of assumptions and even biases. Put these connections to the test!
Run the pattern in a different scenario or broader data set and see how it works. E.g. “Based on the Fraud reports, I believe all customers that buy X item with Y item are fraud”. Take those criteria, run it for a month or several months, and see if that is still the case.
Challenge yourself. Ask yourself - is what I have in front of me telling me this, or am I just assuming it does?
Daily Patterns and Outro
If you think this is not applicable to you, have you ever really stopped to think about why you like certain songs for example? Maybe the pattern of sounds is arranged in a specific way to make you feel specific things. Or the lyrics are arranged together to make you think of certain things. The sooner you recognise and accept the patterns around you, the better you’ll be at utilising them to enhance your world. Perhaps you’ve even realised the number of times I’ve used maybe in this blog, and that I changed it to perhaps only for this sentence. Good way to make a point about trends and patterns, I think!
Whether you’re learning to crochet, learning a language, trying to understand a Math formula, or just trying to get to work with enough time to get yourself some eggs, have a go at the steps and see if you start to see more patterns in your day-to-day life.
Dedicated to our Eggless Colleague
Maia Rocio Gonzalez is a Payment Fraud Specialist and Level 4 Data Fellowship apprentice at Multiverse based in the UK. Maia’s writing for the Apprentice Lens as part of the Blogging Team. Here’s more about her :
‘Hey! I’m Maia. Aside from working in fraud prevention, I like to get stuck in with all things artsy. I love to paint, draw, knit, sew, crochet - if I don’t already do it, I’m certainly open to learning it! Fun fact about me - I used to tell people I’d never have an office job or work with numbers and now I do just that and love it.’