Print

Print


the eye does not see what the mind does not know ... was quoted recently.
The nit-picker .. or the payer of attention to details .. or the general
semanticist .. within my mind .. in my brain .. seeks to sort the best
meaning of these words.  There seems to be one meaning .. one will not find
what one has no prior cognizance of knowing, or perhaps .. if one is not
cognitively seeking, one cannot find. However, there are many neural
processes in imaging in our mind .. which is the process of seeing .. which
starts, perhaps, when one starts to look.  I entered all this elaboration
as an entry to writing about the <blue glasses> (id est, blue lenses or
filters).
Tom Reiss has contributed much to this discussion subject.  I claim no
expertise axcept wide interest in learning, but will add my two cents
worth.  Last year in the summer I attended a lecture given by a young PhD
research professor teaching at Caltech and researching the
physics-physiology-functioning of the brain.  The work is quite basic or
fundamental and I doubt that I remember one tenth of what the young an of
German extraction said (nor his name), but the measurements of electrical
pulses, loci in the brain of these, asssociation of eye movements,
attention shifting of the erson being monitored, synchronization of the
pulses and their frequency, et cetera were analyzed to attempt defining the
process of cognition and focusing our gaze or attention along with hearing
voices, smelling odors, et cetera that are involved in looking around and
recognizing a friend or pretty girl or ?? that catches one's eye or ear.
Suffice to say, cognition is complex and involves many millions of neral
circuits with probably several classes of memory ... from zero time
perception to short term and long term.  The results he went on to
demonstrate via a simple audience experiment <may> pertain to the
peripheral optical sensitivity mentioned by Tom Reiss and Alan Bonander and
perhaps others.
The experiment did not involve peripheral perception, per se, however he
did state that motion is a primary signal generator from peripheral retinal
sensors.
The flashing of several slides comprised the experiment.  There were
several with one having two shapes or letters where all but one might have
the same color .. or the same shape but random orientation and location on
an otherwise blank screen.  One is able to perceive very rapidly where the
odd one is.  When there are two or three, some get the correct answer, but
when perceiving and counting happen, the process needs much longer input.
Finding different color spots is most rapid for most.  Finding three or
four L shapes randomly oriented amongst many randomly oriented V shapes all
black or one color was very slow comparatively.
Perhaps this information will stimulate some further attempt to investigate
the optical filtering of blue wavelengths via blue colored filters; help
some in showing how there may be optical effects that may be magnified by
PD neurotransmitters deficit or dopamine excess from l-dopa (in the optical
nerves or the optic signals information channels in various parts of the
brain or ?), or stimulate some attempt to point out the flaws in my
perception, memory, or review of what I think I learned from that lecture
and all that is resident in my head.    Maybe  Matthew Beckwith will find
some fun and challenge with my long winded typing.  TTFN
 
Ron  <[log in to unmask]> Ronald F. Vetter