Perception versus Reality Draft - Essay Example

The researcher states that he doesn’t have specific deficiencies of the eye-to-mind connection that need to be addressed, it’s a universal phenomenon.  What does bother the author a bit is that he is surprised every time, on every new illusion. The researcher looked at more than 10 because the whole concept is fascinating and somewhat addicting.  He has asked some of his friends to look at these illusions and they are fascinated as well and none seem to have superior perceptual abilities.

It’s not just the author so he is not personally bothered by the fact that these illusions fool him. There seems to be a consistency of perception for all people. Certain patterns or types of eye-mind stimulus appear to initiate similar observations. The definition of ‘real’ is the fascinating question. Real is simply what is perceived to be real. What is real to one person is an illusion to another. This brings up questions that go well beyond simple pictures designed to use the fallacies of the eye-mind connection that draw attention to one aspect of a picture and away from others.

The definition of accuracy when attempting to understand how the mind perceives visual stimulation is elusive at best. This could not be better demonstrated than by observing the website involved in this discussion. Generally speaking, visual perceptions are extremely accurate. How else could people drive cars without causing several accidents, even on short trips? We accurately use knives to cut meat and forks to eat with. Watching television, for example, is straightforward. No matter how long you stare at the screen it appears the same.

Many of us who have stared at the tv for many hours every day of our lives know this to be true. A deeper question might be not how our eyes can be deceived from an illustration but how our minds can be deceived by outside forces that distort how what is seen is inevitably interpreted by the mind. Two people that read the same political column, for example, come away with different perceptions of the article. One who is predisposed, for whatever reason, to be of a particular political persuasion might believe it to be an honest and accurate description of events while the other person may consider it slanderous inaccurate.