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MEL's picture

The Brain and Perception

Submitted by MEL on Sun, 01/24/2010 - 11:44pm.

 

I think our discussion this week about Emily Dickinson’s poem was very interesting. I had always realized that the human brain has a great ability to store information and do work, but I had never thought of it in the terms that “The Brain - is wider than the Sky”. At first I wasn’t sure what to make of this statement. It is mind boggling to think that everything we see is a construction of the brain.
 
I feel that this discussion relates to the experimental psychology course that I am taking. Currently we are learning about perception and how the brain sees images and depth. After taking perception into consideration, I think that everything we see is a construction of the brain. I agree with natmackow’s statement that if a tree falls and no one is around to hear it, it still makes a sound. But I think they way each person individually hears the tree fall or sees the tree fall is a construct of his or her own brain.  Although things in this world exist, the way that a person perceives them or translates them is a perception of his or her own brain. Our eyes see the sky and then our brains perceive the sky as blue (or whatever color your brain perceives as blue).
 
For example, my psychology teacher showed us an amazing picture of 3D chalk artwork. Although, our brains see a removed piece of sidewalk, it is just a 2D chalk drawing on the sidewalk. This image is a construction of our own brains; the image does not really exist. Here is the link to picture:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_JsjVuqcg0BQ/SVA3alLGR4I/AAAAAAAADPI/4KWr0VXDa7Q/sidewalkart2.jpg
 
Although this picture is an intentional illusion, I think it truly shows us how much the brain’s perception controls our view of the world.  

 

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