Perception

koan · Post by **koan** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 9:19 pm

It is often said that if three people are in a room when something happens there will be three different versions of what took place. Why do you think this is?

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 9:33 pm

it's a common exercise in police academy classes, where the reliability of eyewitnesses is the issue. and it is true more often than not, that 3 different people will offer up even wildly differing details. i often need to interview people, what happens in a heartbeat or in a "heat of passion" moment, or an otherwise emotionally-charged few moments (like a robbery or battery) is often colored by just that--emotion.

koan · Post by **koan** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 9:40 pm

lady cop, you have great perspective on perspective! I hadn't thought about that being part of your job.

I've noticed that even simple things can come up for debate ie) I put the ashtray on the floor then Sue picked it up. No. Someone else says Joe picked it up. Neither Sue or Joe recall and it turns out the ashtray is still on the floor.

A more subtle application of the perception issue would be staring at clouds. We all see different things in them.

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 10:35 pm

same here in another way GG, when i am at the sea i tend to think about what is under the water, where others may contemplate what is across the expanse.

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 11:02 pm

Godiva Girl wrote: LC, have you ever wondered about the sea creatures? What they see when they look at us and what they see when they look at each other? Do they have senses and emotions?i have been SCUBA diving since i was 10. and took a year of marine bio in college. i am endlessly fascinated with the depths, the life, the shipwrecks, mother ocean. i do underwater photography as a hobby. did you know that it has been proven that octopi are intelligent beings? i have been face-to-face with many sea creatures and i never had a moments fear, but maybe they did. i also did a stint as a show diver at marineland florida, but left when a big bullshark started circling me all the time.

koan · Post by **koan** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 11:21 pm

tmbsgrl wrote: I think that it is true. The truth always get stretched.. And each person that tells the story usually exaggerates a little. The only way to find out the truth is to ask the person who said it orginally.. Does this make sense?

Have you ever had someone say something to you then deny they said it even though there were witnesses? The person sometimes intends to say something but something else comes out and they hear it the way they intended on saying it anyway. Your theory is great for ending gossip but not necessarily accurate to finding the truth.

lady cop · Post by **lady cop** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 11:24 pm

please do go, it's another world and unworldly. the trick is, sit yourself in a sand channel and wait for them to swim by, i have made friends with moray eels and grouper, barracuda and pilot whales. then again i have captured lobster for dinner!

Jika · Post by **Jika** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 11:28 pm

lady cop wrote: i also did a stint as a show diver at marineland florida, but left when a big bullshark started circling me all the time.

:yh_rotfl

I'm sorry LC, that must have been terribly troubling for you at the time, but that would have to be the funniest thing I've read all day. :wah:

Happily for us you had the good sense not to hang around ol' bullnose and find out what his/her issues were.

anastrophe · Post by **anastrophe** » Mon Apr 04, 2005 11:41 pm

perception, and the variability of same, is summed up for me thusly:

try to describe to a blind (from birth) person what a color is.

Suresh Gupta · Post by **Suresh Gupta** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 1:54 am

:wah:

Post by **kensloft** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 10:17 am

Perception is aesthetic relativity... beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

koan · Post by **koan** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 5:20 pm

anastrophe wrote: perception, and the variability of same, is summed up for me thusly:

try to describe to a blind (from birth) person what a color is.

They did this in the movie Mask. Blue was an icecube, red was a hot potato etc. It is a good way to show that a concept can be conveyed with having to share the exact same visual image.

koan · Post by **koan** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 5:27 pm

kensloft wrote: Perception is aesthetic relativity... beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

That's a great example since people can look at the exact same photo and disagree on the quality of beauty that is present. There was a study done on what makes someone beautiful. I think the program was called "The Face" with hosts John Cleese and Elizabeth Hurley. They measured the faces of people considered to be beautiful and inevitably the proportions were childlike.

anastrophe · Post by **anastrophe** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 7:27 pm

koan wrote: They did this in the movie Mask. Blue was an icecube, red was a hot potato etc. It is a good way to show that a concept can be conveyed with having to share the exact same visual image.
but that's using metaphor, rather than an actual description. a blind person would have no concept for red meaning 'hot'. particularly since red can also be 'apple'. it is impossible to describe a color to someone who can't see.

Suresh Gupta · Post by **Suresh Gupta** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 10:42 pm

Using the theory of 'Cause & Effect', Perception is the effect of people's attitude. If I have a positive attutude towards life, I will perceive every thing in a positive manner. But if my attutude is negative then my perception will also be negative.

Jika · Post by **Jika** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 11:36 pm

I think perception is totally reliant on all senses as well as frame of mind as Suresh so wisely noted.

I see from the above posts visual perception has been taken into account, and would like to speak re: hearing and perception.

I have been adapting to hearing loss since my late 20s and this changes, distorts my perception of situations pretty much on a daily basis. Mis-hearing people, or not hearing them at all can lead to much comedy or awkwardness and occasionally dangerous situations.

Suresh Gupta · Post by **Suresh Gupta** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 4:52 am

Jika wrote: I think perception is totally reliant on all senses as well as frame of mind as Suresh so wisely noted.

I see from the above posts visual perception has been taken into account, and would like to speak re: hearing and perception.

I have been adapting to hearing loss since my late 20s and this changes, distorts my perception of situations pretty much on a daily basis. Mis-hearing people, or not hearing them at all can lead to much comedy or awkwardness and occasionally dangerous situations.

You are so right. I am sure you manage well such situations.

koan · Post by **koan** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 12:02 am

When I was about six I noticed that things looked different out of one eye. Colours were muted in the right and more vivid in the left. My mother took me to an optometrist and they were astounded. It is very rare for anyone to notice such a thing let alone at such a young age (pat on my own back). Anyway, I had an astigmatism; one eye shaped like a football. So perception for me has always been of a double nature. Depends which eye I'm looking through. :wah:

koan · Post by **koan** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 12:08 am

anastrophe wrote: but that's using metaphor, rather than an actual description. a blind person would have no concept for red meaning 'hot'. particularly since red can also be 'apple'. it is impossible to describe a color to someone who can't see.

To convey the colour is the point. The technique used is irrelevant. The concept can be conveyed. What is the colour red? I can see it but please tell me what it is.

Suresh Gupta · Post by **Suresh Gupta** » Thu Apr 07, 2005 12:46 am

koan wrote: When I was about six I noticed that things looked different out of one eye. Colours were muted in the right and more vivid in the left. My mother took me to an optometrist and they were astounded. It is very rare for anyone to notice such a thing let alone at such a young age (pat on my own back). Anyway, I had an astigmatism; one eye shaped like a football. So perception for me has always been of a double nature. Depends which eye I'm looking through. :wah:

It is quite interesting.