Articles on why you cannot trust your eyes

There was an experiment to test if people noticed things that did not belong. The experiment is being talked about a lot currently and variations of it are being shown. You have to wait for the end of the video.

What is the message we are being led to believe? What conclusions do people draw. The first article says that we see what we want to see, that implies that we cannot trust our beliefs. The fact is that people miss the gorilla because they are focused elsewhere. We only see a percentage of the world, our ability to observe is limited by our senses. I cannot see in ultraviolet spectrum, some people cannot see a wide range of colors.

It is not that we cannot observe properly, it is that our ability to observe is limited. What was left out of the experiment was that people could accurately count the number of times the people tossed the ball, what they were asked to focus on. The promise made in the first article is that if you relax and observe the big picture you are more likely to be lucky and get cookies. To not observe things too closely.

I am a big believer in a different approach. Most people decide what cookies they want and then begin building a belief set and understanding that appears the most likely to achieve their goal, ignoring things that are not "relevant". I believe we should observe the totality, gestalt philosophy, after getting the big picture we then drill down to individual aspects with no regard for the outcome. The intent is understanding not acquisition.

We will never have complete understanding; but, is our intent to use our understanding to get cookies or to grow? If we seek understanding for it's own sake we will get cookies because we will understand how things work better, it is a natural result.

I was talking to someone recently about such things. Specifically we were discussing people who have foot fetishes or like to dress up like furry woodland creatures and have sex. Neither I nor the person I was speaking to were attracted to such activities and the activities themselves were not what we were discussing. What intrigued me was how they got there.

I know there are many men with foot fetishes, I have no opinion on it one way or the other. What I have never been able to figure out is what led to the fetish. How do people come to associate sexiness with feet? Understanding it is not likely to me getting anything, I don't have a foot fixation. It is not likely to help me overcome any problems; but, it might help me to understand others who are different than me and that has value.

The one thing that pushes ignorance the most is the search for relevance. The refusal to understand or care about anything that does not increase our chances of getting goodies. Quiet contemplation has value in and of itself, increasing our understanding of the world.

Two websites that I regularly visit are "The Anomalist" and "The Fortean Times". They regularly post on the bizarre. I particularly like it when the link to stories about fish falling from the sky. The standard answer is that it is caused by waterspouts taking up fish from the sea and then depositing them miles away. As Charles Fort pointed out, if that was the cause how come we don't see a variety of fish fall, it is always limited to one type per incident.

Now answering this question may have no value to me, it is just amusing. It is the gorilla observation test. Most people would not even bother to read about fish falling from the sky and if they did they would accept the explanation without examining it because it has no relevance to their lives. To examine the question gets in the way of chasing cookies. We are becoming a society that spends all it's time chasing cookies, especially in the realm of entertainment and pleasure. As a consequence our understanding of the world becomes more and more limited.

In the book "Faust" there is a professor who creates a little man just to see if he can. That is not a search for understanding, doing things just to see if we can is not a search for understanding it is dismissive of the impact on others, it is prideful and an abomination. Frankenstein is a good example of this type of investigation.

The Chinese are reportedly gene splicing human genes with animals. The alleged purpose is to create hybrids. We have seen Stephen Hawking call for similar changes, improvements in humans through gene modification. Others call for modifying humans using technology. Both are forms of transhumanism and I have posted on that previously with links. They claim that in order for people to keep up with the changes in the world we will need to modify ourselves. One transhumanist stated that people who are not allowed to have these modifications will be at a disadvantage and be seen as handicapped in getting the cookies of this world.

The idea that we are not good enough and need shortcuts to survive is dangerous. We are what matters and our personal evolution must come with understanding. Wisdom and understanding have no shortcuts, learning is a process. I can train someone through repetition; but understanding does not follow. Understanding comes through learning and experience, it focuses on a things impact on others.

People too often trade understanding for cookies, free will for comfort and love for sex. Law school is very demanding, you read hundreds of pages a day and are constantly questioned on everything you believe. It is not fun, it is hard work. In fact Law School is an unpleasant experience. I went to Law School with no intent to practice law, I wanted the understanding and it has helped in my career. Many of my fellow students could not understand why I would put myself through such a thing. In fact one fellow student offered to lend me the money to take a Bar Review course because he thought I should become a lawyer.

I graduated with honors and could take the bar exam if I wished, I have no such wish. I did take the exam once right after I graduated because I thought I should, I missed passing by a few points. Because it was not what I wanted for a career I never took it again and it has been 25 years. What I learned in Law School has enriched my life in so many ways, it has broadened my understanding. The hard work that went into graduating pays me back every day in ways that I could not have anticipated and that is the beauty of the thing.

We have an amazing world around us, it is full of so many wonderful puzzles. The world and the universe have an unlimited number of puzzles to solve, we may not solve them all correctly; but, it is about the journey. The journey should be one of discovery for that promotes the most growth. At least that is what I am striving for. Be well.