What makes things real

[PETA]

Originally Posted by shaggy

With perception blurred by the fallacies of memory... can we ever accept something is real? Besides the instant, that precious instant we experience it? 5 of us could go somewhere, have a different perspective of, but enjoy the same, show.....a day later, that experience is distorted....so how do we really know the absolute truth of the experience, besides the moment it is experienced??

only you worry about this shit Shaggy


tell you what, let me punch you in the nose - you tell me if it was real?

[PETA]

Originally Posted by johnny861

There's a cool set of optical illusions that shows how the brain "fills in the gaps" in terms of missing data.

There are certain areas in a human's peripheral field where the eye is unable to receive optical data... scientists haven't quite determined if the brain simply ignores these areas, or attempts to fill in the gap where possible...


There's also supposed to be similar audible illusions, where the brain tries to complete a pattern, resulting in what sounds like whispers or wind...


Illusions are interesting to ponder in terms of contemplating what is real or not...

there is insane new research illustrating that not just in vision but in decision making. For example, brain chemicals are released initiating a response before the brain could recieve the optical signals that should have triggered that response and chemical release. Kinda puts a big questionmark on the whole free will deal. wish I could remember the book review that was in.... oh well

[charlie brown]

didn't they theorized that the brain is just predicting a lot of what's about to see optically

I can see this being very useful for the human to have good hand-eye coordination

plus the chemical response in your brain happens like .3 or .4 seconds sooner than when it would actually see it so I think it's fair to tie it with how your brain fills in a lot of what your eyes "should be" seeing

[PETA]

Originally Posted by matias

didn't they theorized that the brain is just predicting a lot of what's about to see optically

I can see this being very useful for the human to have good hand-eye coordination

plus the chemical response in your brain happens like .3 or .4 seconds sooner than when it would actually see it so I think it's fair to tie it with how your brain fills in a lot of what your eyes "should be" seeing

wish I could recall the article better matias - was fascinating stuff

there were counter arguments and evidence to be sure but lots of cool shit to speculate on

and yes, of course, it is specifically tied in with seeing - hearing - feeling - reacting etc its all intigrated

[charlie brown]

obviously, but I meant the fact about your brain not necessarily processing EVERYTHING that the eye sees and actually just "guessing" on a lot of what it tells us it's seeing

man I sorta wish I had that article again now too - it really was a good read

[fish]

Wet Mind by Kosslyn and Koenig is a great read on this topic. It requires more time than reading an article but well worth it if you are really interested in the subject.

[johnny861]

Originally Posted by xian

there is insane new research illustrating that not just in vision but in decision making. For example, brain chemicals are released initiating a response before the brain could recieve the optical signals that should have triggered that response and chemical release. Kinda puts a big questionmark on the whole free will deal. wish I could remember the book review that was in.... oh well

that's pretty wild! Yea, if you come across that again, definitely post it... I'd like to read about it..

*edit* such predictions would make sense in terms of coordinatation... being able to not only identify patterns, but predict patterns and trends would be a huge leap for the field of robotics.

[PETA]

had this long conversation w/Brandon about it a month or two back... damn