fact melts away the fear…
A Thought Experiment
by meditative - November 20th, 2011.Filed under: Mindful News, Events, & Resources.
Excerpt by Michael Michalko from Creative Thinkering
Look at the illustration below. Do not read further content until you guess as to what the illustration might represent.
Expectations have many diverse sources, including past experience, professional training, and cultural and organizational norms. All these influences predispose us to pay particular attention to certain kinds of information and to organize and interpret this information in certain ways. Perception is also influenced by the context in which it occurs. Now, suppose I tell you the illustration contains the face of a cow. Can you find it? You will find it if you expect to find it.
Patterns of expectations tell us, subconsciously, what to look for, what is important, and how to interpret what is seen. These patterns form a mind‑set that predisposes the black and white spaces to organize themselves in such a way that you can perceive the face of a cow. This perception is formed on the basis of very little information (i.e., you were told the illustration contained the picture of a cow.).
Once people form impressions on the basis of very little information, they do not reject or change them unless they obtain rather solid evidence. The early but incorrect impression tends to persist because the amount of information necessary to invalidate a hypothesis is considerably greater than the amount of information required to make an initial interpretation. The problem is not that there is any inherent difficulty in grasping new perceptions or new ideas, but that established perceptions are extremely difficult to change…
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