We both stop to look up at the deep blue sky as we walk along the seafront on a sunny day. Is it possible that we are having the same experience? I would like to know if you see the same blue that I see.
It is obvious that we do. Both of us use the word "blue" and the colour seems to be a property of the sky. The science of perception suggests that it's not true. It is likely that our inner experiences are different as well.
It may seem like the world pours itself directly into our minds through our eyes and ears. According to psychologists, perception is more than just a read out of sensory info. Context has a strong influence on us. From the effect of shadows on how we perceive the brightness of a surface, to our tendency to interpret facial expressions based on what we think is happening, context affects all of our conscious experiences.
Researchers go even further. Perceptual experience is built from the top down with the incoming sensory signals mostly fine- tuning the brain's " The brain makes predictions about the causes of the sensory information it gets and uses that information to update its predictions. We live in a controlled hallucination that is tied to reality by a dance of prediction and correction but which is never the same.
If we are faced with the same objective external reality, we will all have different perceptual experiences. Does a peach taste the same to me as it does to you? Differences in perception are hidden behind the common language we use to describe them.
Not all the time. There are some things that are familiar. The descriptions of delusions and hallucinations have been around for thousands of years, but they are usually seen as a failure of perception against a standard way of seeing the world.
The concept of "neurodiversity" has brought attention to the different ways some people experience their worlds. This framework emphasizes that the differences are not deficits, though this emphasis is often lost because it's thought that it's difficult to manage with certain neurological conditions. Some exceptions are present. Though the evidence is mixed, synaesthesia is seen as enhancing creativity and cognitive ability.
It is not possible for every one of us to see the world in a different way.
Sometimes the spell doesn't work and we can see the constructions that we think are. A few years ago, a poorly exposed photograph of a dress tore across social media because half the world saw it the same way, while the other half saw it in different colors. The other interpretation was impossible for people in each camp. This might have been a lot of fun, but it didn't seem to lead to a better understanding of how we see things.
The Perception Census aims to change this. The goal is to map out the hidden landscape of perceptual diversity. It consists of engaging, fun, easy and quick to complete online experiments. Participants can learn about their own powers of perception and how they relate to other people. The Perception Census explores sound and music, feelings, and how we experience time. The first results will be released by the end of the year, and anyone over 18 can participate.
It is possible to bring to light our inner diversity as much as it is to recognize our external diversity. There is no single way of seeing the world against which other people can be compared. Perceptual diversity is a concept that applies to all of us.
We should appreciate this more so that we can cultivate humility about our own views. It is useful to know that other people can see things differently to us, and that these differences may evolve into different beliefs and behaviors. It's possible that engaging people in simple exercises that reveal the constructed nature of perception will help resolve disagreements.
An understanding of perceptual diversity makes the world a better place. Next time you go for a walk by the sea or through a town, imagine all the different universes in the minds of the people around you. There are many beautiful places to be found.
Being You is a new science of consciousness and is written by the professor of neuroscience at the University of Sussex.
The evolution of intelligent life is the subject of Other Minds: The Octopus and the Evolution of Intelligent Life.
There are 10 things you should know about the brain.
Richard E Cytowic and David M. Eagleman wrote "Wednesday Is indigo blue: discovering the brain of synesthesia."
All Rights Reserved © 2024
