Perception, Logic, and the Lack Thereof: Seeing is NOT Believing
"I know it when I see it." This statement confirms what many of usbelieve about the data we accrue with our senses on a daily basis. We knowsomething when we apprehend something-or, to use another cliche, if itquacks like a duck, smells like a duck, and floats like a duck it must be a Perhaps the most famous challenge to the assertion that seeing isbelieving is the series of optical illusion pictures often shown inpsychology textbooks. Someone can look at one of these pictures and see ayoung woman's head. Another person can look at the same picture and see anold woman. Both individuals perceiving the same picture are in factcorrect, as there are two images embedded within the same line drawing.But on a less obvious, more subjective plane of logical thought, one couldeven state that a photograph not designed to be an optical illusion couldalso contain two truths. A young child might see a portrait of a thirty-five year old woman and call her an old lady. A sixty-five year old womanwould look at the same picture and see a young adult, perhaps even someone Even the tangible rewards of the senses, like hearing, smelling,
This doesnot mean the way the individual sees the world is 'wrong,' but clearly itis different-much like the eyes of a bee sees a flower differently than wedo, a dog can hear frequencies silent to the human ear, and a catpleasurably experience the intoxicating herb of 'cat nip' in a way that noother animal can. However, although intellectually we might be aware of the fact oursenses are not reliable, to proceed through the world on a daily basis, wemust trust at least some of the data gathered by our subjective senses. A color blindperson waiting at a stop light must take special care to note that the toplight is changing from 'stop' to the third light of brightness, which mostpeople would simply and easily read as the color 'green. Even if one would like to deny the fact thatice is slippery, and simply because it can't be seen by some people itcan't be there, if a car speeds over a surface encrusted in black ice, itwill probably slip and force the driver, namely one of my parents, to cursethe fact that he or she was in such a hurry to go somewhere. A piece of rayon can feel like silkto the touch, and if some artificial flavorings didn't taste like the realthing (or better than the real thing) at least some of the time, KraftFoods and McDonald's would be out of business! On a more serious note, ablind person, or a deaf person, or even a color blind person does notreceive the same sensory data as the majority of the population. I have witnessedthe denial and fear of my parents in the face of invisible ice. I hope a color-blindperson driving would not ignore a stoplight, simply because he could notsee red, and adjust for his own imperfect perceptions. But, speaking frompersonal experience, it must be cautioned that to do entirely would meanthat one slips on the ice. The idea that a bee might see the roaddifferently is of little value, if one is driving on a highway at topspeed, and must change lanes. One might deny the existence of objective reality, and sayeverything in the external world is subjective. Thebrain must be aware of this, and the driver must know enough to turn his orher neck to pick up on the fact that a vehicle invisible to the eye mightposes a danger to his or her own car. A hundred years ago, there appearedto be no logical reason that so many individuals died from successfuloperations. Now history tells us the fact that doctors were unaware of theexistence of germs, microorganisms invisible to the naked eye, meant thatthey were loathe to wash their hands and thus contributed to the deaths ofmany of their patients from gangrene and other infections. Life is full of examples where perceptions could be changed by sheerforce of mental will. But this is not a testimony to thelack of value of logic, simply the lack of perceptive abilities of thehuman eye and the science of medicine.
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