VISUAL PERCEPTION

THE WAY WE SEE

LOOKING AND SEEING

SEEING IS MORE THAN LOOKING
Looking is how our eyes build an image of things. Seeing is looking with attention. All the people see things in a different way.

The way everyone sees is called PERCEPTION.

Whats PERCEPTION?
To perceive is to interpret what we see. Our eyes receive information, and our brain interprets that information. This interpretation depends on the things we have learned before about the object we are seeing.

Whats PERCEPTION?
Perception depends on our culture and our memory.

PERCEPTION = SENSE INFORMATION + CULTURE

PERCEPTION
If we dont know anything about astronomy, we arent able to read the stars in the sky. Astronomers know the name of the stars and planets. They see the sky in a different way than people who doesnt know.

CULTURE AND PERCEPTION

Some people perceive in a different way although they are looking at the same thing. That is because perception depends on culture, society and personal experience.

CULTURE AND PERCEPTION

For example, before America was discovered, the american indians never had seen a man riding a horse. When they saw spanish soldiers riding horses, indians were scared because they thought that spanish were monsters. Indians didnt have any experience about men riding horses, so that was very strange for them.

SENSE AND PERCEPTION

Sometimes, our brain builds an image different from the real one: sight is deceiving us. Is really there the number 1 in this logo?

OPTICAL ILLUSIONS
Optical Illusions are images perceived in a different way that they really are. Are these vertical lines parallel?

OPTICAL ILLUSIONS
Which is longer?

OPTICAL ILLUSIONS
Which of the internal circles is bigger?

Ambiguous shapes
What do you see?

Ambiguous shapes
What do you see?

A duck or a rabbit?

IMPOSSIBLE FIGURES
Always upstairs... Or downstairs!

IMPOSSIBLE FIGURES
Can you find them in the real world?

ART AND IMPOSSIBLE FIGURES

Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972) was a Dutch artist. In his drawings, he created a fantastic and magical world full of impossible figures.

Swing, by Valentin Dubinin

Castle of Illusions, by Irvine Peacock

ACTIVITY
1. Pay attention to the picture. You must observe it during 5 minutes. 2. Draw the picture by memory in a sheet of paper. 3. Colour it using your crayons. 4. We will collect all the drawings and compare them with the original picture.