Читать книгу Figure It Out - Stephen P. Anderson - Страница 42

In the vase shown in Figure 3.6, what do you see?

FIGURE 3.6 An optical illusion by artist Sandro Del-Prete.⁹ Based on prior experiences and current expectations, viewers see either a depiction of dolphins or two lovers.

Most adults will see two lovers. Yet, show this same image to young children, and they see the dolphins. (Go ahead, look for them!) While a fun optical illusion, this (like most optical illusions) reveals something about how we perceive things. This is a great example of how the brain matches based on prior experiences and expectations. For most adults, we’re far more likely to see lovers than we are dolphins—this concept is likely on our minds more often! Children, who aren’t accustomed to seeing two adults together in this sexual way, are more likely to see the image they are familiar with, dolphins (assuming they’ve read about or seen dolphins). In short: We see what we’ve seen before (and also what we expect to see).

There’s far more to the brain and perceptions than what we’ve covered here, but the three points we’ve called out are sufficient for our purpose, which is to understand the role the brain plays as a pattern-matching and prediction organ. Understanding this gives depth to the examples that follow in the next several chapters.

To recap: associations among concepts is thinking. The brain is a perceptual organ, looking to make associations. Let’s return then to the observable world, to look at how these perceptions are activated by stories and pictures and other things we can point to.