WHAT IS REAL?

What is Real? Can We Trust Our Senses? Anthony Sherman Strayer University PHI210 February 15, 2014 Professor Nick Koltochnik

WHAT IS REAL?

If a tree fell and there was nothing there to hear it. Is there sound? The age old question of what is real is a complicated conundrum. Are we born a blank slate that our senses fill with experience? Or do we have innate knowledge that our senses build upon? How can we tell if our senses are accurate, or if they are so imperfect that they lie to us? Sight, sound, scent, taste, touch and smell that creates a kaleidoscope of senses for our brain to process. By testing these senses, science can measure the accuracy and inaccuracy and determine the contributing factors and predict how the memory plays a role. What is Real? Can We Trust Our Senses? Like any equipment, our senses can be measured. Professor Charles Stangor, in his book of Beginning Psychology is quoted: The human eye can detect the equivalent of a single candle flame burning 30 miles away and can distinguish among more than 300,000 different colors. The human ear can detect sounds as low as 20 hertz (vibrations per second) and as high as 20,000 hertz, and it can hear the tick of a clock about 20 feet away in a quiet room. We can taste a teaspoon of sugar dissolved in 2 gallons of water, and we are able to smell one drop of perfume diffused in a three-room apartment. We can feel the wing of a bee on our cheek dropped from 1 centimeter above. (2012) With this amazing accuracy of information flooding our brains, how accurate is the information interpreted? Inaccuracy With all these amazing senses, our environment should be presented with mathematical precision. However, there are more tests that prove that our senses are not so perfect.

WHAT IS REAL?

It turns out that our brain can override our senses and miss information in what is called selective attention. Daniel Simmons provides a video demonstrating how selective attention works. You are asked to watch a collection of six students, three dressed in black and three dressed in white, and count how many times the students in white pass the ball while walking in a zig-zag pattern around each other. After about seven passes, a student dressed in a monkey suit walks down the middle of the students, stops and beats his chest, then continues walking. An observant viewer might catch the ape in the middle. However, most viewers miss the ape in an attempt to count the basketball passes (2010). This phenomenon allows us to focus on tasks in front of us and not be averted by commotions around us. However, selective attention does come with some caveats. For instance, have you ever been in a conversation when you hear someone in the distance call your name? Our senses are adapted to our surroundings even when we are not aware of it. A second sensory phenomenon called sensory adaption allows the human body to ignore stimulus after prolonged and constant exposure (Stangor, 2012). As an example, have you ever taken a shower and turned up the heat after a minute? The water probably isnt getting colder, but your body has come accustomed to the temperature and has diminished the sensation of the warm water. This adaption allows our senses free to detect changes in our environment so we can adapt (Stangor, 2012). You can only believe it if you see it with your own two eyes! Actually, the saying is far from the truth. Your eyes can fool you far more than your other senses, even though we rely on our site the most. There are many illusions to prove that point. In fact, magicians make a living fooling the audience with a visual sleight of hand. What Influences Accuracy

WHAT IS REAL?

Of the factors influencing accuracy, knowledge has to be the most important. Looking into a fire doesnt tell you of the dangers of touching a hot coal. If you have ever grabbed a limb and caught a hot coal, you will never forget the experience, as long as you remember it. However, you dont need direct experience to gain knowledge, the better way to gain that knowledge is to read or hear of someone who has witnessed the experience. Perception uses multiple senses to interact with our surrounding environment. Seeing the ocean might entice you to go for a swim, but the cold air on your skin will remind you of the consequences if you do! Seeing a fluffy cat might urge you to pet it, but a growl might alert you that the cat is angry! Putting our senses together to create a perception is the protective mechanism ingrained into our DNA. Interpretation is the third test in accuracy. Interpretation is the memory process that combines knowledge and perception to make a decision. Should we step there? Is that safe? Will I get hurt? Does that taste good? Interpretation can happen subconsciously or consciously and usually is a protective mechanism. The role of memory Accuracy influence is tied together with memory. You may be born with primal urges that help you survive, but to extend your experience beyond your animal instincts requires memory. You cant retain knowledge, use your perceptions to make decisions or interpret your environment without remembering these experiences. Our ability to recall experiences is actually a reconstruction, not an exact copy (Kirby & Goodpaster, 2007). Therefore, by exercising our mind, we give ourselves the ability to better interpret our senses.

WHAT IS REAL?

References Daniel Simons (2010, March 10) Selective attention test. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch? feature=player_embedded&v=vJG698U2Mvo Kirby, G. R., & Goodpaster, J. R. (2007). Thinking. Boston, Massachusetts: Pearson Learning Solutions. Stangor, C. (2012, December 29). Beginning Psychology (v1.0). Retrieved from 2012 Books. Lardbucket: http://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/beginning-psychology/s01-about-theauthor.html