Sciencemadness Discussion Board

What is ' seeing '

franklyn - 12-9-2009 at 16:52

A question not readily resolved , as it continues to be the
subject of much research in psycology and neurology.

This site explores the range of what are called optical illusions

http://www.michaelbach.de/ot


This first one demonstrates a motion not immediately apparent that actually
describes how pistons in a radial engine move.
http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/mot_motionBinding/index.html

- Click on the image to view , then there click - occluders






This next one is from another referenced site and shows how the context
greatly influences what motion we ' see '
http://www.purveslab.net/seeforyourself/index.html

- Click the image to go there -


Back to the previous site , this shows what is commonly called camoflage.
http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/cog_hiddenBird/index.html

- Click on the image to view , then there use - ' Noise off ' and ' Bird stop '




This one is just for fun. Additionally below is attached a zip file containing
these *.swf files and others , along with some common everyday items :D
http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/mot_adaptSpiral/index.html

- Click the image to go there -




Attachment: Illusions.zip (770kB)
This file has been downloaded 582 times


1281371269 - 12-9-2009 at 17:21

Great, I've got those downloaded. All I need now is to invite a few friends over, put together some kind of hallucinogen in my lab, and we're off...

Joking aside, these are very interesting. There is a government ad on at the moment talking about how drivers see motorcylists as further away because they are smaller, resulting in many fatalities.

[Edited on 13-9-2009 by Mossydie]

psychokinetic - 12-9-2009 at 20:23

Seeing is only the result of your brain deciphering what goes into the eyes.

:)

franklyn - 14-12-2009 at 15:27


Can you ' Captcha ' this ?

I cdnuolt blveiee that I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd what I was rdanieg. To the
phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to rceaserh at Cmabirgde
Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in what oerdr the ltteres in a word are, the olny
iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and last ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset
can be a taotl mses and you can sltil raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is
bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the word
as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

- Spell checked :
I couldnt believe that I could actually understand what I was reading. To the
phenomenal power of the human mind, according to research at Cambridge
University, it doesn't matter in what order the letters in a word are, the only
important thing is that the first and last letter be in the right place. the rest
can be a total mess and you can still read it without a problem. This is
because the human mind does not read every letter by itself, but the word
as a whole. Amazing huh? Yeah and I always thought spelling was important!

__


Determining if random psuedo talk actually means something is not so clear cut.
Chopping up otherwise coherent discourse into a gramatic jumble can appear as
the ramblings of a disturbed person.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_V_Shaney
- the mill
http://utilitymill.com/utility/Markov_Chain_Parody_Text_Gene...
- another
http://www.yisongyue.com/shaney
- the code
http://www.racinesystems.com/projects/markv

This is particularly useful when responding to those baffling posts which no doubt
have been generated by this very process. Simply excerpt related text from an authoritative source,
http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/physics
http://mathworld.wolfram.com
run it through the balderdash generator and post that as an answer to the self
important gibberish.

Balderdash : Rapid incessant unimportant blather on meaninglessness irrelevant matters.

Gibberish : A term for talking that sounds like speech, but carries no actual meaning.

.

devongrrl - 15-12-2009 at 03:58

Amazingly, Yes I could read it and make perfect sense of it.

bquirky - 15-12-2009 at 06:04

I rely on this phenominum for my everyday comunications.

hissingnoise - 15-12-2009 at 08:22

Something slightly different---I had an amplifier with two red leds spaced ~12in apart and when an object was placed in front in such a way that I saw only one led with each eye the red image image appeared to float in midair between me and the amp.
The effect, simple though it was, was surprising!
I was seeing the left led with my right eye and vice-versa.
Had I been seeing them the other way round the image would have receded so that it would appear to be at some point *inside* or beyond the amp.

psychokinetic - 15-12-2009 at 12:06

Now, was that hissingnoise or a markov-chain? :P

hissingnoise - 15-12-2009 at 12:57

What's with the non sequitur, psycho?
Is it simply for effect. . . ?

psychokinetic - 15-12-2009 at 21:18

That was sequitur. It was about you and markov-chains ;)

sonogashira - 15-12-2009 at 21:21

Seeing is believing :)

hissingnoise - 16-12-2009 at 10:34

Quote: Originally posted by psychokinetic  
It was about you and markov-chains.

What are you on about?

hissingnoise - 16-12-2009 at 10:40

Sonogashira, they told me; believe half of what you see and none of what you hear. . .

psychokinetic - 16-12-2009 at 13:15

Quote: Originally posted by hissingnoise  
Quote: Originally posted by psychokinetic  
It was about you and markov-chains.

What are you on about?


You. And Markov-chains.

hissingnoise - 17-12-2009 at 08:07

Not a kiwi fruit-and-nut. . . . . .?

KNO3me - 5-4-2010 at 13:40

Interesting post, the spiral illusion is pretty neat.
I stared at it for approximately 30 sec. and everything in the room around me started expanding.

hissingnoise - 5-4-2010 at 13:46

Now try it on acid or 'shrooms. . .
Expect more expansion!


franklyn - 5-4-2010 at 17:29

The intent was ' mind ' expansion not halucination.

.

franklyn - 12-10-2012 at 14:13


Why seeing is never believing , very cool optical illusions

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVyYcAI90jw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_C5x7PXQDQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmkaVoLoFEU
Threading the needle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89AobrE4NKk
Moire effect
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvvcRdwNhGM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdW7PvGZ0uM
What color is that doggy in the window ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUMWxhISvhk


[Edited on 13-10-2012 by franklyn]

White Yeti - 17-10-2012 at 16:02

There's much more to "seeing" than just that. Your visual field is separated into areas of differing visual acuity. If you look straight ahead, you can read what is in front of you. On the periphery of your visual field, the majority of the information that enters your brain characterises changes in luminosity, which is not necessarily an image reconstruction at all. Most of the action takes place in your brain. As optical illusions show us, our brain takes the images from our eyes and overlays them with past memories and experiences to give sense or meaning to the image. Illusions represent conflicting interpretations of the same image.

A short note on psychedelics, psychedelics will generally suppress the areas of the brain that give meaning to the information that enters via our sensory pathways. This is why people experience synesthesia and sensory "hallucinations". I put hallucinations in quotes because your eyes don't actually "see" any of the wacky fractals, it's your brain that is no longer able to fully anchor sensory information to a previously established physical reality.

Dr.Bob - 19-10-2012 at 07:27

Francis Crick describes visual awareness and much more in his book, "Astonishing Hypothesis", which goes into great detail about human vision and awareness. I will warn that while he states that it is written for the layperson, I found it rather complex and overly detailed with anatomical neurology, and I have even taken courses in that area. But if you want a non-concise summery of how vision works, it is an excellent book. He has a number of optical illusions and exorcises to demonstrate certain ways that the brain works.

http://www.amazon.com/ASTONISHING-HYPOTHESIS-SCIENTIFIC-SEAR...

Shades of Dali

franklyn - 14-10-2013 at 07:16

www.youtube.com/embed/dhuUhaNIWLQ