[Solan]

One of the wonders of human perception is that half of what's there - isn't. Or rather: Half of what we perceive to be there is simply filled in by our expectations. I have found that I am completely and utterly unable to look at a word in a normal, western font without seeing those shapes as precisely letters. It's not a matter of seeing strange blobs of colour that I then recognize as the letters suchie, sucho and such. The letters come before my conscuiousness at the same time that the blobs themselves do.

The same way with most familiar words, and even sentences. I even see "sentences" before I see s-e-n-t-e-n-c-e-s as letters. Well, I even see it that way if it is misspelled, which brings in expectations. And some expectations are rather persistent, like the one that occurs a bit too often when I look at my wife's cosmetics shelf: Polish Nail Remover.

Anyone else have any reflections or observations (or, of course, a mix of the two) on this topic?

 

[Fuzzy OneThree]

Those dirty Poles, stealing our fingernails!!

Back on topic, sometimes I look at words and think, "why is it spelled like that?" Since we are at head-fi, I'm sure people have said, "this sounds just like I expected" after getting some new gear.

 

[Kilane]

On a smei rlaeted ntoe:

"Aoccdrnig to rschearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm."

 

[Dzjudz]

That is, if you use proper grammar...

 

[Al4x]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kilane /img/forum/go_quote.gif On a smei rlaeted ntoe: "Aoccdrnig to rschearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm."

yeah, i can read that very nearly as fast as normal

 

[G-man]

yup, you just need to get started. i think the thing is, with sentences it is even faster, as you expect what the rest of the sentence is in that context.

 

[F107plus5]

I can read what the rest of y'all say just fine.

I just can't figure out what I've said.

...even if the letters are in some kinda right order.

 

[aaron313]

I can read it just as quickly. But I can also write with my left hand mirroring my right hand, and I'm left handed. The brain is capable of allowing us to accomplish some truly useless things.

 

[Zorander]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kilane /img/forum/go_quote.gif On a smei rlaeted ntoe: "Aoccdrnig to rschearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm."

I can read that fine but I am also imagining you saying it aloud with your nose pinched.

 

[Solan]

I like "carerbelly cellengehad" as a misspelling.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Comprehension depends on how much I've had to drink.

 

[dvessel]

Our ability to fill in what's not really there is to expedite processing. It's not always accurate (seldom is) but the trade off is that we don't get bogged down with lower level processing. I'm certainly not an expert but If I remember correctly, taking it all in at once is a problem with people inflicted with autism. Something to do with the frontal lobe which acts like a filter.

Artists are good at taking in more "as they are" since the right brain is predominant. Left brains symbolize the world. It works for some things, and detrimental for others.

 

[dvessel]

Another note, because of this duality of our brains, it's a good idea to engage in artistic activities if you are predominantly left brained. It definitely helps in everyday problem solving and general perception. And yes, it can be cultivated and exercised even if you don't consider yourself the artistic type.

 

[MD1032]

That Cambridge University thing has been floating around for a while. It's really cool because everyone can read it at a normal pace. What I don't get is how our brains not only manage to understand the word, but at the same time identify words that are misspelled. If you glance over a document, you'll always see misspelled words the first time, even in long words, without a problem, and at the same time, our friends at Cambridge insist that our brains are processing things without regard to spelling. I think there's more going on than we realize.

 

[VicAjax]

ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which i cannot put.