Inner Cosmos with David Eagleman
Ep 87 "How do we operate in the present when we perceive the past?"
Jan 13, 2025
Explore how our brains process visual signals, making us slightly live in the past, yet still manage to catch a baseball. Discover the fascinating world of optical illusions and how our expectations shape perception. Unravel the concept of self-tickling and its surprising links to schizophrenia. Dive into the brain's predictive abilities, as it creates internal models to navigate reality despite sensory delays. Experience the interplay between motion and perception through relatable scenarios, like driving in a bustling city.
34:41
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Quick takeaways
- The brain constructs perception by predicting sensory inputs based on prior knowledge, illustrating its active role in interpreting reality.
- Visual illusions highlight how expectations shape our perception, revealing the complex interplay between sensory processing and consciousness.
Deep dives
Understanding Visual Illusions
Visual illusions can reveal significant insights about how the brain constructs perception. When observing images of seemingly random blobs, people often fail to see the intended shapes until given context—demonstrating that perception relies heavily on expectations. This illustrates that the brain interprets visual stimuli based on prior knowledge, affecting what we perceive as reality. The understanding of these illusions raises questions about our awareness of how consciousness shapes our perception of the world.
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