Читать книгу Figure It Out - Stephen P. Anderson - Страница 40

To understand this pattern-matching function of the brain, let’s take something simple, like a letter from the alphabet. In Figure 3.3 we see the letter “A” set in various typefaces.

FIGURE 3.3 Typographical variations of the letter A. Consider why you can recognize all these forms, even forms you’ve never seen, as the letter A.

Assuming you are an English reader, it’s doubtful you have any difficulty recognizing all these shapes as the letter A. Some of these exact letterforms may even be new to you, but you likely had no difficulty figuring out what the shape is—the letter A. But have you considered why it’s so easy to recognize all these shapes as the letter A? Seems like a silly question, and yet ... There was probably a time in early childhood when, having just mastered recognizing block letters, you were introduced to cursive letters, and it felt like you were starting all over. But soon, you mastered this new form. And now you can probably recognize the letters of the alphabet in nearly any typeface—including new type styles you’ve never seen before. This human ability to recognize approximate patterns (vs. exact matches) is something we’re good at.

But this example doesn’t really show off the matching part of pattern-matching. Let’s consider some things that require more of us.