...The Invisible Gorilla: How Our Intuitions Deceive Us - Book Review The Invisible Gorilla: How Our Intuitions Deceive Us was written by Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons for the purpose of describing their findings of various experiments. As well as the thought provoking experiments, the authors also gave meaningful analyses of situations where the brain interprets a situation differently than how it is actually occurring. The authors educate the readers that most people are not actually seeing what one would expect because of an illusion, or a perception that occurs when a sensory stimulus is present but is not perceived correctly and often distorted. Throughout the book, it is explained how a person processes information, how certain...
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...If there is any book out there that can influence oneself intellectually, physically, and mentally if would primarily be Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah written by Richard Bach. This book reveals many different viewpoints from both Western and Eastern societies. These are indeed concepts that are usually questioned and reviewed. Along a spiritual journey two men meet and so much knowledge is exchanged. Richard is a pilot on a spiritual journey who gets involved in a one on one student-teacher relationship with Messiah in which he learns how illusions are a substitute for reality and he ideally questions what is the point of living then if everything is an illusion. There are initially two viewpoints that are well known around...
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...that gave me meaning as to what Plato was trying to say . It showed that the Prisoners saw only the shadows of what the puppet men were carrying and they only said what they thought the images were . In the example the prisoners thought he “ saw a book , but he was not seeing a book , he was seeing a shadow of a book . “ Plato’s point is that they were referring to shadows they saw on the wall and not the actual item that the puppet men were carrying in front of the fire that caused it to make a shadow on the wall. The example given in The Allegory of the Cove shows us that the prisoners were no really seeing the object but the shadow of an object that was reflected on the wall , if they could have turned around , which they could not , because they were chained , they would have seen that the real item was being carried by the real item was being carried by the puppet men and they were only seeing a shadow of the item. I believe this application was valid because it shows an illusion . If the prisoners could have seen the real article that was being passed in front of the fire , all that they were seeing was the shadow of the item on the wall . The prisoners think they are seeing an item such as a book but...
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...Constancies and Illusions What are Perceptual Constancies? * Tendency for the perception of an object to stay constant despite changes in stimuli * Perceptual constancies rescue us from confusion * They allow us to identify objects with different stimuli Three types of constancies: * Size * Shape * Brightness Size Constancy * The most studied of all constancies is size constancy, the fact that an object’s size remains relatively constant no matter what its distance. As an object moves farther away from us, we generally do not see it as decreasing in size. Hold a quarter a foot in front of you and then move it out to arm’s length. Does it appear to get smaller? Not noticeably so. Yet the retinal image of the quarter when it is 24 inches away is half the size of the retinal image of the quarter when it is 12 inches away. We certainly do not perceive the quarter as becoming half its size as we move it an arm’s length. Like other constancies, however, size constancy is not perfect; very distant objects appear to be smaller than the same objects close up, as anyone knows who has looked down from a tall building or from an airplane in flight. Shape Constancy * Tendency for the perceived shape of an object to remain constant despite changes in its retinal image. Ex. A book will have the same shape regardless of the angle it is viewed from. Brightness Constancy * Tendency for the perceived brightness of an object to stay the same as long...
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...Nouwen 4-MAT Book Review 1 Nouwen 4-MAT Book Review Quinton Neighbors Liberty University Nouwen 4-MAT Book Review 2 Summary Reaching Out The Three Movements of The Spiritual Life by Henri Nouwen, published on November 20, 2013. The author lays out three dimensions of spiritual movements in the Christian life. Each one proceeding from the previous one to make a simple but profound process for the reader to understand. Explained first as the spectrum of loneliness to solitude. Next, hostility to hospitality, and finally illusion to prayer. The needs of loneliness manifest its in the quest for messianic completeness in other things to fill the void. This has many implications as violence, resentment, and other reactions to having such flawed idols are being used to fill the gap. On the other hand, the author presents Christ as the point of wholeness that we as humans long for. Our innermost selves are filled by this to become receptive to inner talk, the world and others. The immovable wholeness in Christ is the axiom in which the heart solitude provides loving faith filled responses. Going further into solitude is an process of inner stability in Christ, that plants seeds of hospitality instead of the natural hostility our world has created. Hospitality is defined as a biblical term of open freedom of space so that strangers can be invited as friends. Balanced in heart solitude and freedom from attachment to things either material or immaterial makes the space for a good host...
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...things such as the books lining the infinite shelves and his beautiful home....
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...the spirit of Bibi Chen, a SanFranscisco socialite, narrates the story of her twelve friends during their vacation and disappearance in China and Burma. Bibi's sudden death, prior to the scheduled vacation, gives her "The Mind of Others", a Buddhist term meaning she can hear others true thoughts and feelings. This new ability allows the readers insight into the raw emotions of the twelve friends. As one gets acquainted with each character the very real truth of human emotion and basic need is exposed. To reflect upon the opening quote, it is within human nature to use illusion to survive. We see what we need to see in order to make it acceptable. The twelve tourists display this when visiting China's Stone Bell Temple. They are oblivious to the beauty, history and the dangerous laws protecting the sacred land. All they see is a playground in which they act accordingly. They want to enjoy themselves, live out their modern dreams of what they feel a vacation consists of, while at the same time trampling on the traditions and concerns of the inhabitants of the land. When told they had been cursed, it is humorous to them. It is in the refusal to believe in something unknown to them that bring them on a path of turmoil. As tradition dictates, it is in a persons best interest to please the Nats (destructive and mischievous spirits when displeased) when passing a shrine. The Americans desire to believe in only what they see fit, causes most of them to deny the Nats even the smallest...
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...Abstract: In this essay, Ibsen’s plays, The Wild Duck, and Ghosts are considered in relation to themes of illusions and realities. In both plays, families are held together by illusions, yet torn apart by truths that have been concealed to protect the children. Ibsen’s use of artistic realism is an ironic art form where illusions and realisms are contradicted to reveal the deeper conflicts of ordinary lives. Ibsen presents the complicated realities of ordinary lives and emphasizes the fact that there are always many realities -- just as there are many illusions. Title: Illusions and Realities in Ibsen’s Plays The Wild Duck and Ghosts Introduction In Ibsen’s The Wild Duck, illusions and reality are set into a conflict within the story of a son’s personal desire to confront idealism. Throughout much of the play, the son, Greger, argues the value of truth with the reluctant Dr. Relling. Relling insists on the importance of illusions, but fails to discourage Greger’s intentions and a play that begins as a comedy quickly turns into a tragedy because of these conflicts. At the heart of the illusions in this play are the ways that people assume many roles in a family, impersonating multiple ideals as ways for managing their relationships. This theme of impersonation is also developed in Ibsen’s Ghosts, where family relations are slowly undone as the illusions and deceptions are stripped away. In both plays, deceptions are strategic and designed to protect the children...
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...My Own Epistemology: In the Making Am I living in an illusion? What will happen to me after I die? Is there really such thing as a God? I have struggled with these three questions throughout my entire life, and I was very intrigued to discover that all of these questions were addressed throughout the many different readings in Libs 201: Exploring the Unknown. Author Chris Frith dissects the idea that the mental world is an illusion created by the brain in his book Making Up The Mind. Antony Flew, a former atheist, argues that there is such thing as a God or an “agent” and backs up his theory using science. Emile Durkheim writes about the foundation of religious thought in primitive people thousands of years ago, and addresses the question of where religious impulse comes from in humans. All of these readings address epistemological questions beyond the scientific domain of research, and I am left with an open mind as I try and retain all of the different concepts and ideas each of these authors has to offer. According to Chris Frith, the mental world is an illusion caused by the brain. In Making up the Mind, Frith addresses the distinction between the mental and the physical world, and claims that there isn’t actually a distinction at all. Frith writes, “Most of our interactions with other people are interactions between minds, not between bodies.” This statement really stood out to me, and I found myself repeating these words over and over again inside of my head. Reading...
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...Is life an Illusion? David Coulter Liberty University Is Life an Illusion? Each of the readings discusses aspects of man being deceived by his senses. In The Matrix, almost every human is plugged into a giant computer and lives out an illusion provided by the computer to the brain (Wachowski, 1999). In The Allegory of the Cave, a hypothetical situation where men are only allowed to see shadows of reality is discussed by Socrates and Glaucon (Plato, n.d.). Finally, in Meditation I of The Things of Which We May Doubt, René Descartes attempts to eliminate all beliefs that might be based on something uncertain. He proposes that a demon may be providing an illusion and his senses may not reflect reality (Descartes, 1641). With all of this investigation around human senses being deceived, is it possible for people to trust their senses? The Matrix and The Allegory of the Cave both deal with how men react to reality when illusion and reality are recognized for what they are. However, they each deal with this recognition in different ways. In The Matrix, reality is far less pleasant than the illusion. Some prefer the truth rather than to be deceived, and one in particular prefers the illusion claiming “ignorance is bliss” (Wachowski, 1999). In The Allegory of the Cave, the hypothetical subjects when confronted with reality find it to be less real than the deceptive shadows that they have always thought was reality. Over time, they learn that the deceptive shadows were and...
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...Abstract: In this essay, Ibsen’s plays, The Wild Duck, and Ghosts are considered in relation to themes of illusions and realities. In both plays, families are held together by illusions, yet torn apart by truths that have been concealed to protect the children. Ibsen’s use of artistic realism is an ironic art form where illusions and realisms are contradicted to reveal the deeper conflicts of ordinary lives. Ibsen presents the complicated realities of ordinary lives and emphasizes the fact that there are always many realities -- just as there are many illusions. Title: Illusions and Realities in Ibsen’s Plays The Wild Duck and Ghosts Introduction In Ibsen’s The Wild Duck, illusions and reality are set into a conflict within the story of a son’s personal desire to confront idealism. Throughout much of the play, the son, Greger, argues the value of truth with the reluctant Dr. Relling. Relling insists on the importance of illusions, but fails to discourage Greger’s intentions and a play that begins as a comedy quickly turns into a tragedy because of these conflicts. At the heart of the illusions in this play are the ways that people assume many roles in a family, impersonating multiple ideals as ways for managing their relationships. This theme of impersonation is also developed in Ibsen’s Ghosts, where family relations are slowly undone as the illusions and deceptions are stripped away. In both plays, deceptions are strategic and designed to protect the children...
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...There remains a debate about the origin of sawing illusions, with some sources saying a magician named Torrini may have performed the first version in front of Pope Pius VII in 1809.[1] However it is more likely that the story is a fiction which has its roots in the writings of the famous French magician Jean Robert-Houdin. In his Memoirs, written in 1858, Robert-Houdin described a sawing illusion performed by a magician named Torrini. Modern magic inventor and historian Jim Steinmeyer has concluded that there was probably no real Torrini and the story was merely a way for Robert-Houdin to play with ideas.[2] It was suggested during a court case in 1922 that the trick can be traced back to ancient Egypt, however this claim has not been substantiated.[1][3] Wherever the idea originated, until the 1920s it remained just an idea for an effect, rather than a practical application of a method. It is generally accepted that the first public performance of a sawing illusion was achieved by British magician P.T. Selbit in January 1921 at the Finsbury Park Empire theatre in London. In fact Selbit had previously performed the illusion in December 1920 before a select audience of promoters and theatrical agents at the St. George's Hall, London, to try to persuade one of them to book his new act for public shows.[2] His trick, which he billed as "Sawing Through A Woman", was significantly different from what a modern audience would expect. Selbit's assistant was locked inside a closed wooden...
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...04861318 The Martian Chronicles: Illusion over Reality The Martian Chronicles can be interpreted as the choice of illusion over reality. There were many events where the Martians shaped their bodies to the humans’ deepest desires or the humans themselves created illusions to fulfill these desires. By doing so, it could be seen that the characters chose to follow their illusions instead of accepting the reality they were facing. “The choice of illusion is related to the strong emotions of love, hate and empathy.” (Taylor, 2013) In chapter six –the third expedition- is clear that the humans’ illusion is to have their beloved dead ones back. Despite the Captain’s reservations and warnings, everyone accepts the illusion of Green Bluff, Illinois in Mars, which suggests unreality given that it may not be possible to copy an identical place in a different one. However, this acceptance brings comfort to the crew who are blinded by the emotion of having their resurrected family back; these families “were given a second chance to live in a new world” which, at the same time, is unreal because there is no way to bring back a dead person. The Martians linked this illusion to the strong empathy with the crew’s emotions through telepathy in order to carry out a dreadful funeral. Earth men never suspected what was happening until the last moment when they were killed because they couldn’t resist this emotion. In another story, Spender is under the illusion that everyone will understand his...
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...The only way to know if you're afraid of something is if you do it. Fear is a kind of imagination, our fears can instantly switch to worlds of danger and disaster. Comparing how fear felt before something scary, and how it felt after is called transformation. It’s only through that comparison, again and again, that you get better at going through things like a haunted house or trail. You have to have some other feeling that you trust more than the fear. In what ways does transformation play a role in stories meant to scare us. Why do we do things such as go through a haunted house, or read a scary book, or even watch a scary movie, why? Are we curious as to how we react? Or are we looking for someplace to put our fear? If you really think...
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...sheer force of the rushing water carrying sand and rock, eroding everything below that happens to be in its path. Due to the fact that the water falls vertically down, and the rocks adjacent to the falls are composed of horizontal strata, if we stare at the water for a certain amount of time and then transfer our attention to the rocks, we get the impression that the rocks are moving in a wavelike pattern. Looking below the waterfall, the spray of the waterfall creates a sort of mist in the air, which then splits the light into a spectrum, creating rainbows in various places at the foot of the waterfall. This seemingly simple, majestic and powerful display of water is in fact a series of molecular bonds, laws of physics and optical illusions which interact in complex manners, creating the fascinating effect we can observe. Memo...
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