Psychological Optical Illusion

www.eyes-and-vision.com...

The influence of culture and environment can have an effect on your visual perception.This theory was first explored by Robert Laws ,a Scottish missionary working in Malawi,Africa,during the late 1800s.
Take a look at the picture in the link,what you see will largely depend on where you live in the world

[edit on 02/10/08 by karl 12]

Interesting; this reminds me of Hudson's experiments with culturally-relative perception.

www.garysturt.free-online.co.uk...

Another account, this time concerning distance perception:

The anthropologist Colin Turnbull described what happened in the former Congo in the 1950s when a BaMbuti pygmy, used in living in the dense Ituri forest (which had only small clearings), went with him to the plains:

And then he saw the buffalo, still grazing lazily several miles away, far down below. He turned to me and said, 'What insects are those?'

At first I hardly understood, then I realized that in the forest vision is so limited that there is no great need to make an automatic allowance for distance when judging size. Out here in the plains, Kenge was looking for the first time over apparently unending miles of unfamiliar grasslands, with not a tree worth the name to give him any basis for comparison...

When I told Kenge that the insects were buffalo, he roared with laughter and told me not to tell such stupid lies. (Turnbull 1963, 217)

www.aber.ac.uk...

reply to post by karl 12


Pretty cool...

I saw the westerners interpretation until it was pointed out...then i could see the others.

I automatically assumed the Western stance. It's amazing how something as simple as a drawing can put into perspective the bias and stereotypes we all live on a daily basis.

Personally I think the picture is flawed.

If the box above the woman's head even remotely looked like a metal box then I could have seen the similarities. It's doesn't though, and looks like a window.

It's a fairly decent drawing, so why would the artist decide to draw a badly misshapen and balanced "box" and then say it can be interpreted as being a metal container?

edit: for misunderstanding

[edit on 10-2-2009 by dodgygeeza]

Take into account this drawing was presented to Africans in the 1800s, before Europeans introduced modern architecture to the area. The concept of a square room and square window were uncommon whereas women balancing objects on their head was an everyday occurence. You see square windows everyday so you see it as a window.

That's basically what the article was implying. The unconscious connection between your logic and your eyes is going to behave differently given different settings.

Your "basic intelligence over origin" statement doesn't sit well with me. You come across as a racist proclaiming that Africans are stupid. I really hope this isn't the way you see things. Tribal culture is vastly different from a corporate, capitalist, democracy and the differences have very little to do with intelligence and everything to do with the needs of a society coupled with the resources available to them.

Originally posted by Scurvy


Your "basic intelligence over origin" statement doesn't sit well with me. You come across as a racist proclaiming that Africans are stupid. I really hope this isn't the way you see things. Tribal culture is vastly different from a corporate, capitalist, democracy and the differences have very little to do with intelligence and everything to do with the needs of a society coupled with the resources available to them.

I knew someone would think it sounded "racist" .

edit: apologies, it does sound racist. Not my intention though.

[edit on 10-2-2009 by dodgygeeza]

The thing above her head looked like a shadow frame picture on the wall to me, not a window or box

I thought they were in an outdoor room, like an enclosed gazebo with the floor being outdoors, it looked like a beam to me, not a tree and in a warm climate because the men wore shorts.

No worries friend, I figured I'd see if it was a misunderstanding before I made a fool of myself. I know what you were implying, it just got muddled given the context of the discussion (Western perceptions compared to African perceptions).

Thanks for clearing that up