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marmalade · 01-09-2008, 09:53 PM

Essentially, this is why I'm not a materialist meaning I don't reduce everything to material causes. I just don't know the explanation for many things that I experience on a regular basis something like RAW's UFOs. I don't assume anything unusual and I mostly ignore these unexplained things. Most people do. We all have a limited capacity for curiosity and besides we can't seek answers to everything. Humans are creature of habit and our most deeply imbedded habits are perceptual.

I don't know about other people, but for me the question of what I'm not noticing is always nagging at my mind. I can be as mindless as the next person, and when lost in thought I can be utterly oblivious. And even when we humans are paying attention, we still can miss the obvious that is right in front of us.

"There is a famous business training film that shows people in black and white shirts passing a basketball back and forth. Viewers gathered to watch the film are instructed to count the number of times the basketball is passed. As the ball goes around, a figure in a gorilla suit walks into the scene. The figure turns to the camera and beats her chest, before walking off-screen. According to Daniel J. Simons, the psychologist who produced the film, 50 percent of instructed viewers fail to see the figure in the first screening, due to what he calls “inattentional blindness.” That’s right; half the people viewing the film fail to see a person in a gorilla suit walking across their field of vision."

On top of this, we have cultural paradigms. These are things that we never even consciously think about much less question. There is an anecdote that comes from a Spaniard ship log.

The Spaniards rowed to shore and the natives greeted them. The natives asked where they came from as people don't normally come out of the sea. The Spaniards pointed towards their several large ships, but the natives couldn't see them and they had no idea even what they were supposed to be looking for. The shaman started squinting and after a while the shape of the ships became apparent to him. Once he pointed the ships out to the other natives, then they all could see them.

This relates to something I saw on tv about an indigenous tribe. These people had never been around technology. The scientists visiting had brought cameras and a film screen. They filmed the people in the tribe, and then showed them the film. The people couldn't recognize themselves. It took many viewings until they were able see themselves on the screen.

And so this reminds me of the quote by Arthur C. Clarke:

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

01-09-2008, 09:53 PM	#3 (permalink)
marmalade Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 263	Paradigms Essentially, this is why I'm not a materialist meaning I don't reduce everything to material causes. I just don't know the explanation for many things that I experience on a regular basis something like RAW's UFOs. I don't assume anything unusual and I mostly ignore these unexplained things. Most people do. We all have a limited capacity for curiosity and besides we can't seek answers to everything. Humans are creature of habit and our most deeply imbedded habits are perceptual. I don't know about other people, but for me the question of what I'm not noticing is always nagging at my mind. I can be as mindless as the next person, and when lost in thought I can be utterly oblivious. And even when we humans are paying attention, we still can miss the obvious that is right in front of us. "There is a famous business training film that shows people in black and white shirts passing a basketball back and forth. Viewers gathered to watch the film are instructed to count the number of times the basketball is passed. As the ball goes around, a figure in a gorilla suit walks into the scene. The figure turns to the camera and beats her chest, before walking off-screen. According to Daniel J. Simons, the psychologist who produced the film, 50 percent of instructed viewers fail to see the figure in the first screening, due to what he calls “inattentional blindness.” That’s right; half the people viewing the film fail to see a person in a gorilla suit walking across their field of vision." On top of this, we have cultural paradigms. These are things that we never even consciously think about much less question. There is an anecdote that comes from a Spaniard ship log. The Spaniards rowed to shore and the natives greeted them. The natives asked where they came from as people don't normally come out of the sea. The Spaniards pointed towards their several large ships, but the natives couldn't see them and they had no idea even what they were supposed to be looking for. The shaman started squinting and after a while the shape of the ships became apparent to him. Once he pointed the ships out to the other natives, then they all could see them. This relates to something I saw on tv about an indigenous tribe. These people had never been around technology. The scientists visiting had brought cameras and a film screen. They filmed the people in the tribe, and then showed them the film. The people couldn't recognize themselves. It took many viewings until they were able see themselves on the screen. And so this reminds me of the quote by Arthur C. Clarke: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."