Serendip is an independent site partnering with faculty at multiple colleges and universities around the world. Happy exploring!

Reply to comment

Sam Beebout's picture

dreaming in color

On Friday my alarm went off early because I forgot to reset it. When I woke and walked across the room to turn it off I remembered our discussion about seeing color. If I didn't think too hard about it, I realized that I wasn't really seeing color. I looked at my pink bedspread and though about how it shouldn't look pink. I was making it that way because I knew it was. 

I don't think it matters whether I am really seeing it a certain way or whether I am remembering it. Even though there is a difference for my eyes, my mind makes it so. I'm not sure whether I dream in color or not, I can't be sure. Supposing that I do dream in color, where is that color coming from. How do we remember what we perceive?

It seems like what we perceive must be heavily linked to what we remember. It is practically impossible to feel like I'm seeing something for the first time. How does our brain know when it is seeing something for the first time? 

Are we seeing differently all the time or are we always seeing what we expect to see? Are we made to ignore subtle differences?  We are so programmed to construct cohesive images in our mind. While memory would seem to operate like a photograph, what we have discussed about the brain's constructions so far makes the mind more of a storyteller. Our perceptions are easily fooled and easily adaptable, so much so that it becomes hard to notice differences in what we perceive against our expectations and assumptions.

Reply

To prevent automated spam submissions leave this field empty.
2 + 0 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.