Unconsious Seeing vs. Active Perceiving (Part 2)
02/13/09 03:02:53 PMIn our last post, we presented a challenge to guess the number of individual objects in an image. Before you go further, please take time to review that post. Then, come back.
When we conduct this exercise with people, very few people come close to the true answer. Our minds manage massive amounts of visual elements without strain. When we drive on a highway, we see thousands of objects at the same time. Some are stationary and others moving at high speed. Yet, we’re able to process this constantly changing information.
Why then, do we groan when we see spreadsheets filled with columns of figures and numbers? Again, our minds specialize at seeing. Most of us see without much conscious effort, but reading takes active, conscious effort.
Our eyes manage visual complexity all of the time. However, some forms of visual complexity actually overwhelm our conscious mind. That’s why a PowerPoint slide filled with 10 pt. text and 15 pictures overwhelms viewers during a presentation. It’s the difference between seeing and reading. When you ask your conscious mind to perform a task usually handled by the unconscious mind, it quickly becomes overwhelmed. The conscious mind cannot manage as many visual elements as the unconscious mind.
Now, let’s return to the image we presented in the last post. How many objects did you guess were in this rendering?
If you guessed like most people do, then you will probably be surprised by the actual number. There are at least 145 separate elements within the image. That number increases if you count the floorboards and ceiling joists separately. There are even more elements if you count the images on the television as separate elements. Then, if you add the number of trees in the background, there are several thousand unique objects in this image.
