We often don't see what does exist

Introduction

Our perception of the world is not always an accurate reflection of reality. It is often shaped by our personal desires, expectations, and biases. While the brain is skilled at focusing on what it deems significant, this often means filtering out vast amounts of information from our surroundings. Additionally, the human eye is limited to perceiving only a small fraction of the light spectrum, referred to as the visible spectrum, which ranges between wavelengths of 380 nm and 780 nm. Thus, while ultraviolet and infrared rays pervade our environment, they remain invisible to us.

Moreover, due to the time taken by light to travel and the brain's data processing speed, the images we perceive are not from the present but an infinitesimally brief moment in the past. Though this delay is minimal, thanks to the speed of light being approximately 299,792,458 meters per second, it still exists.

Examples

Through the examples that we will present, it will be clear that we often don't see what does exist.

The Monkey Business Illusion

(Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGQmdoK_ZfY#t=41)

Numerous experiments illustrate how our perception can be selective. A notable instance is the "Monkey Business Illusion". In this experiment, viewers are tasked with counting the number of times players in white shirts pass a ball as shown in Figure 1:

During this, a person in a gorilla suit walks into the frame, performs a gesture, and exits as shown in Figure 2. Surprisingly, many viewers engrossed in counting fail to notice the gorilla. While around 50% of unsuspecting viewers miss the gorilla, those forewarned often overlook other changes in the video.

Cognitive Processing and Human Learning

In the Journal of Vision, investigators describe what can occur when the brain is asked to process more information than it can handle. The phenomenon, which they dub a “crash in visual processing,” happens when the neurons busy processing one image are tasked with processing another too quickly, and then either one or both images do not reach conscious awareness.

“Prior studies have shown that people are rather poor at detecting objects of interest that appear close together in time, even though the human brain can process up to 70 images per second,” says the study’s senior investigator, neuroscientist Maximilian Riesenhuber, PhD, a professor of neuroscience at Georgetown. “Our study shows a specific limitation of the visual system and explains why our consciousness cannot keep up. When someone tells you they didn’t see something that occurred in a chaotic situation, maybe they did, but they didn’t know that they did.”

The study provides evidence for the theory that a bottleneck can occur in the neuronal pathway that takes in visual stimuli. That pathway starts at the back of the brain and extends forward, rapidly processing the visual signals up to the frontal cortex (“feedforward”), and then sending them back again to the areas the stimuli were first processed in (“feedback”).

“The feedback wave appears to be crucial for participants to actually become conscious of the stimuli their brains had processed in the ‘feedforward’ pass,” Riesenhuber explains.

The study included a series of EEG experiments in which participants viewed images of natural scenes streamed to them in short bursts at a rate of 12 per second, and answered how many images contained animals, and also what the animals were.

The crash in visual processing happens when the back of the brain is stimulated again with a second image before the feedforward and feedback loop needed for the first image is completed, Riesenhuber explains.

“Such findings are exciting because they could lead to novel methods for accelerating cognitive processing and learning in humans,” he adds.

Giant Telescope Example

To further illustrate perception delays, consider observing a planet 300,000 kilometers away through a telescope. The image we see would be from one second ago, due to the time light takes to travel that distance. Similarly, many stars visible in the night sky might have already expired, and their light is only reaching us now, after millions of years. The sun's rays, for instance, take about 8 minutes to reach the Earth.

Failure to Notice Money on a Tree

(Video: https://youtu.be/ZsN8FUV9nS4)

Researchers from America, specifically Ira Hyman, Benjamin Sarb, and Breanne Wise-Swanso, conducted an intriguing experiment at Western Washington University. They attached a sum of money to a tree branch that hung directly over a frequently used pedestrian walkway as shown in Figure 3. Due to the branch's position, pedestrians had to adjust their path or duck to avoid it.

The site was deliberately selected. The team had observed that many students either navigated around or pushed aside the branch, displaying a consistent pattern of inattention. This experiment was inspired by Amy Krouse Rosenthal's video titled "The Money Tree", where she attached money to a tree and captured people's reactions. Surprisingly, a majority failed to notice the money. Wanting to validate Rosenthal's findings, the researchers replicated the scenario.

From their observations, a mere 3% (12 people) noticed the money. This underscores that individuals can be in proximity to something noteworthy yet remain oblivious to it. It suggests that people often operate on autopilot, deeply engrossed in their thoughts or tasks.

Additionally, the team offered another perspective. Sometimes, the brain might overlook items even if they're right where they're expected to be, particularly if their size deviates from the norm. For instance, while one might spot a regularly sized set of keys next to a door, an unusually large key might go unnoticed, even if it's in plain sight. Similarly, a gigantic toothbrush might be overlooked despite its size simply because the brain doesn't associate it with the expected setting. The brain tends to filter out objects deemed "out of place" or unusual, emphasizing its role in shaping our perception.

Methods of Treatment

We will suggest a set of treatment methods that will help develop our vision.

Improving Attention Span

With the inundation of information today, honing our ability to focus is essential. A refined attention span can better prioritize stimuli and information relevant to our goals.

Expanding Knowledge

Personal experiences and interactions play a vital role in shaping our perception. Engaging in repetitive tasks or processes and learning from errors can help solidify ideas and improve our awareness of our surroundings.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT can help individuals recognize patterns in their thinking and behavior that may be preventing them from fully engaging with their environment.

To be continued ...