Decoding the Gurus Mind, Culture & Visual Illusions: Dorsa Amir and Chaz Firestone on Visual Illusions
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Jul 1, 2025 
Join Dorsa Amir, an assistant professor at Duke University focusing on cognitive development, and Chaz Firestone, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins, as they delve into the fascinating realm of visual perception. They challenge the WEIRD framework in psychology, revealing how cultural backgrounds can alter our understanding of illusions like the Müller-Lyer. They also discuss the intersection of psychology and anthropology, the implications of congenital cataracts on vision, and the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in tackling complex cognitive questions.
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Avoid Being STUPID in Research
- Avoid studying topics uninformed by prior disciplinary research (STUPID).
- Respect and build upon the accumulated knowledge to prevent reinventing the wheel.
Decade-long Collaboration Origin
- Dorsa Amir and Chaz Firestone started discussing the Müller-Lyer illusion back in 2013 as grad students from anthropology and psychology.
- They spent over a decade to formally write their critical paper, merging their distinct disciplinary insights.
Multiple Lines Refute Cultural Hypothesis
- The cultural byproduct hypothesis that illusions like Müller-Lyer arise from cultural exposure faces contradictions from multiple evidence sources.
- Illusions occur in non-human animals, different sensory modalities, and newly sighted children, suggesting they are not purely culturally learned.
