Niblik ([info]niblik) wrote,
@ 2008-11-28 19:43:00
Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend  Next Entry
Brain works
I will know it when I see it....
The brain functions such that if we do not know it, we do not see it.

This is historically documented from the ancient Aztecs, who did not see the Spanish Conquistador ships. They had to invite a shaman out to view the ship before the rest of them could see it.

The function of the mind that does this involves visual pattern recognition. If a visual image is not put into a recognition pattern, then the mind can not "see" whatever that visual image actually is.

This means that if we do not recognize an image, we do not see the image.

One resolution of this involves keeping the mind open to all possibilities.

Likewise, this translates into other patterns. How can we feel an emotion we have never experienced before? How can we identify a situation if we have never been in that situation before?

No matter how well trained I am, even I am susceptible to this working of the brain.

(2 comments) - (Post a new comment)

If I've Never Seen
[info]ela_bird
2008-11-29 02:33 am UTC (link)
If I understand correctly...

In order to see an image, we have to have had seen it before, somewhere, sometime. Otherwise, we cannot perceive it.

The great fallacy in this thinking is that in this case, we would see nothing at all for we have to perceive something in order to perceive it again, otherwise there would be no "again" and certainly no "something".

~Ela.

(Reply to this) (Thread)
Re: If I've Never Seen
[info]niblik
2008-11-29 04:03 am UTC (link)
Yes, my explanation of it is poorly done.

We have to fit the image with something we can associatively recognize. Pattern matching. The Gestalt theory of modern psychology -- organizing what goes on within the brain and matching it up to previous, prior examples.

From the way I describe it, there is a fallacy of logic. The way it works is by attempting to view things without any preconceived notions -- as in, not classifying something, not organizing something, not cataloging something, not labelling something.

For a lot of the world, if it can not fit the patterns that are already established at an early age, then it does not exist.

Purely speculative, but I think that the "new" inputs turn off for most people by the age of four.

This is also a function of the brain and how it processes the massive amounts of data input -- it categorizes incoming input vectors (sight, sound, taste, etc).

This is best described by the analogy of the three blind men that are attempting to describe an elephant. One touches the trunk -- it is like a hose! One touches the leg -- it is like a tree trunk! Another touches a tail -- it is like a rope!

(Reply to this) (Parent)

(2 comments) - (Post a new comment)

Create an Account
Forgot your login or password?
Login w/ OpenID
English • Español • Deutsch • Русский…