Comments on Secondhand Smoke: Your 24/7 Seminar on Bioethics and the Importance of Being Human: The Power of the Mind

Great... I hope some attorney doesn't take this in...

2007-08-01T21:58:00.000-07:00

Great... I hope some attorney doesn't take this into court to try to convince a jury that we see only what we are conditioned to see but not what we really saw. O brother.

I looked as hard as I could and could not see the concave aspect at all. My grandmother used to always say "believe nothing you hear or read and only half of what you see." Some much for the half of what you see part now.

Hooray for phenomenology!

2007-08-01T20:17:00.000-07:00

Hooray for phenomenology!

I can't not see it stick out! That is REALLY wild...

2007-08-01T16:18:00.000-07:00

I can't not see it stick out! That is REALLY wild, and I'll have to be sure to show the kiddies. ;)

I'm sure you're right, Stephen. OTOH, depth percep...

2007-08-01T14:43:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you're right, Stephen. OTOH, depth perception sure would come in handy for driving at night or catching a ball. :-)

Lydia,I wouldn't be surprised if there are other o...

2007-08-01T14:11:00.000-07:00

Lydia,

I wouldn't be surprised if there are other optical illusions that don't "work" for you. From what I can recall of my sensory psychology course, visual processing is really complex.

I would guess that if you don't have depth perception, your brain has different ways of organizing and making sense of visual information - making you less susceptible to some kinds of optical illusions.

More probably inferior eyes rather than superior m...

2007-08-01T13:14:00.000-07:00

More probably inferior eyes rather than superior mind. I'll have to ask my husband and kids what they see. When it is first coming around, it looks definitely concave. When it has turned all the way around to the back and the back side is facing me full-face, the image looks flat and the nose just looks fuzzy around the edges--perfectly ambiguous as to whether sticking out or in. I suspect that without depth perception, I rely almost entirely on things like shadows and size to decide whether things are coming towards me or away, and when the shadows aren't indicative, my brain registers a flat image.

Lincoln: Not sure about that. Have there been stud...

2007-08-01T12:34:00.000-07:00

Lincoln: Not sure about that. Have there been studies about animals seeing things that were not really there, or whether they fall for optical illusions?

Lydia: I see a nose sticking out even though I know it is concave. Perhaps you have a superior mind that can instruct your brain to see what is actually there according to the physical

I don't get it. When it comes around to the back, ...

2007-08-01T12:22:00.000-07:00

I don't get it. When it comes around to the back, it looks to me like the hollow inside of a mask, with the nose sticking away from me. I think this is what they mean by a "nose sticking in." The shadows are there for a hollow nose seen from the inside and everything. Does this mean my brain isn't doing what the narrator says it's going to do? Could this have anything to do with the fact that I don't have depth perception? It just doesn't seem to be working the way he says it does when I watch it.

Wesley, I think it is inaccurate to claim that hum...

2007-08-01T12:20:00.000-07:00

Wesley, I think it is inaccurate to claim that humans are exceptional among animals because their brains construct experience according to learned categories.