What Does "Old Way of Seeing" Mean?

The name "Old Way of Seeing" comes from a book written by Jonathan Hale called "The Old Way of Seeing: How Architecture Lost Its Magic - and How to Get It Back" (it's at Whitehorse Public Library if you are curious).

Although the book is a bit lackluster and rambling, the concept does nicely capture my view on our built environment: We are always hoping technology and new ways of doing things will solve our problem, but fail to recognize that we've been building our environment for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, and that many of the lessons have been learned, but simply forgotten or forsaken.

A few reviews of Hale's book summarizes this sentiment nicely:

"...[a] calling for a combination of design that incorporates universal human fondness for pattern with a designer sense of intuition and play. He argues that such "old way of seeing" has been lost in much by both the designer and the wider public and that today's contemporary architecture and built environment is the result."

and

"if you've ever wondered why new buildings, even though they seem to try very hard, still pale in comparison to old buildings...[there is a] missing "something." He promotes rediscovering our aesthetic eye-- that part of us that knows unconsciously the pattern and geometry of nature, the balance of shape and form that brings us joy."