tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234783319349274920.post1477651543820156125..comments2024-03-28T18:03:15.049-04:00Comments on FOLIO OLIO: THURSDAY 10/4/12Ralph Henryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05079364726250352589noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6234783319349274920.post-90670143318743758682012-10-04T12:33:50.674-04:002012-10-04T12:33:50.674-04:00"If you stare at the plus sign long enough th...<i>"If you stare at the plus sign long enough the dots disappear. I'm wondering why. Our brain does this for a reason...it, somehow, is advantageous."</i><br /><br />Or it could be a massive <i>disadvantage</i>, like our appendixes (appendices?). This illusion may have some evolutionary purpose, but it could also be a purposeless, accidental byproduct of vision systems. btw, that specific image was originally <a href="http://www.eye-illusions.com/optimages/pinkdots.gif" rel="nofollow">an animated gif illusion</a> in which a moving blank space is filled in with a green dot when you focus on certain locations.<br /><br />Many biological curiosities have no apparent purpose; see the wiki articles on <a href="https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Vestigiality" rel="nofollow">vestigiality</a> and <a href="https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Maladaptation" rel="nofollow">maladaption</a>. See also <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf5otGNbkuc" rel="nofollow">Beau Lotto's TED Talk</a> about the evolutionary underpinnings of optical illusions.<br /><br />On a related note, some have postulated that many animals evolved <a href="https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Agency_detection" rel="nofollow">the tendency to assume purpose or intervention in situations where neither may exist</a> as a survival mechanism. e.g. we'll get scared by an unknown sound in the dark regardless of whether any danger is present because the cost of being frequently scared by nothing is worth the benefit of infrequently detecting a predator. Taken further, this explains why we assume there's "a reason" behind optical illusions (and countless other phenomena) when there often isn't any "reason" at all. Notably, it'd explain why we assume something (usually "god") created the universe when no creator is apparent.<br /><br />I love optical illusions. The <a href="https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Optical_illusion" rel="nofollow">wiki article on the topic</a> is great, and the "See also" section is full of neat shit.Jambehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06373677455129413039noreply@blogger.com