All Perception is Fundamentally an Illusion

Most people who stare at the image below will believe the dark oval in the middle is growing larger. But, believe it or not, it is just an illusion – a static image.

According to a study published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, this illusion has something to teach us about how our brains and eyes collaborate to see the world. Researchers tested the illusion on 50 men and women with normal vision and found that those participants who had eyes with the strongest pupil dilation response had the greatest response to the illusion; while those with poor dilation response could not see it.

The pupils in the human eye are designed to automatically adjust to the surrounding light, dilating when it is dark so they can capture more light, and constricting when it is bright to prevent overexposure. Even though the hole in this illusion is not darkening, the perception or expectation in our mind that it should be darkening is enough to make our pupils respond.

Bruno Laeng, a psychology professor at the University of Oslo and an author of the study, says: “There is no reason that the pupil should change [while looking at this image], because nothing is changing in the viewers world, but something clearly has changed inside the mind.”

The researchers hypothesize that the illusion is deceiving because the gradient on the central hole makes it look to the viewer as if they are entering a dark hole or tunnel, which prompts the participants’ pupils to dilate. Our brains are making assumptions about what it sees based on past experience and is trying to predict and prepare our senses for what it thinks will happen next.

It takes time for light to reach our sensory organs and send the image to our brain. The brain then takes more time to process the image, make sense of it, and decide what actions to take based on the collected information. By the time our brain catches up with the present, time has already moved forward, and the user’s environment has most likely changed.

To minimize this image collection and processing delay, the brain may be constantly trying to predict a little bit into the future so that it can better perceive the present. Being fooled by this expanding hole illusion is not a flaw of the human species, but a feature. It is most likely built up from evolutionary history to help humanity survive.

The information we get from our senses is spotty and incomplete, so the brain has evolved over time to try to guess what is happening in the uncertain and ever-changing world – and to make decisions based on what is most likely to happen next.

People who possessed brains with the best ability to adapt and predict what is happening at any given moment most likely had an advantage over those that lacked the capacity to adapt. When the illusion image is communicated to the brain, it anticipates that the body will soon be entering a dark place and it responds by telling the pupils to begin dilating (so the body will be able to react sooner in case there is danger lurking inside that black hole).

Researchers tell us that everything we perceive is inconsistent with the physical reality of the world. It is not just that the information taken in by our senses can be misunderstood, it is also that there is a universe of information available in the physical world that is imperceptible to the human senses.

Consider light itself. The light our human eyes can detect is only a sliver of the total amount of light that’s out there. The 0.0035% of the electromagnetic spectrum we can see is referred to as visible light, but the other 99.9% percent of the spectrum consisting of radio waves, microwaves, infrared radiation, ultraviolet rays, X-rays and gamma rays are all undetectable by our eyes.

Electromagnetic Light Spectrum

Humans have cone-shaped cells in our eyes that act as receivers specifically tuned to the wavelengths in the narrow visible light band of the spectrum. Other portions of the spectrum have wavelengths too large or too small and energetic for the biological limitations of our perception.

Evolution has not endowed us with the ability to see beyond the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum; although it is possible to feel infrared radiation as heat and employ other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum for practical uses, such as X-Ray medical imaging.

But we carry on with our lives, oblivious to the huge spectrum of electromagnetic waves present all around us. Humans have managed to survive and reproduce despite our limited view. It’s a good thing that visible light was adequate to help our ancestors detect predators that would do them harm.

But imagine if our eyes were able to detect other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum — our universe would be unrecognizable. We could glean so much more visual information if we were able to see in the radio, infrared or even X-ray regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Bees and butterflies are examples of organisms that can detect Ultraviolet radiation. Some flowers have special markings that can only be seen in UV light. Bee and Butterfly eyes are able to view this electromagnetic radiation like lights on an airport runway, to find their way to the flower’s nectar. Snakes have special sensory organs on the front of their heads that let them ‘see’ infrared waves, which they put to use with particular effectiveness when hunting for warm-blooded prey.

Consider our sense of sound. Humans can detect sounds in a frequency range from about 20 Hz to 20 kHz, though the upper limit in average adults is closer to 15–17 kHz (because humans lose some high-frequency sensitivity as they mature).

That range of sounds allows humans to hear many of the sounds produced in nature, but not all. Any frequency that is below the human range is known as infrasound. It is so low that it may be detected only by a creature with big ears, such as an Elephant or by specialized instruments designed by scientists to detect the low frequency sounds that precede avalanches and earthquakes. Any frequency that is above the human frequency range is known as ultrasound. Bats and Dolphins use ultrasound frequencies as high as 200,000 Hz to help them navigate via echolocation.

Most dogs can hear sound frequencies as high as 47,000 to 65,000 Hz which is far too high-pitched for humans to hear. That is why dogs can be trained to detect when their owner is about to experience a seizure. Dogs ears are also much more sensitive to loud sounds than ours, which is probably why fireworks, thunderstorms and vacuum cleaners send them scurrying for cover.

Consider our sense of smell. Humans have 396 olfactory receptors which are employed to help us pick up scents. Almost all animals, however, have a larger number of olfactory receptors than humans (rabbits have 768 olfactory receptors) which provides them with an excellent ability to smell. 

Among the animals with the greatest sense of smell are bears whose sense of smell is 300 times better than humans and is capable of detecting a deceased animal from up to 20 miles away; elephants who can smell water sources from up to 12 miles away; sharks who can smell the presence of a drop of blood in almost 100 liters of water; and bloodhounds whose sense of smell is 2,100 times better than that of a human’s and can detect trace amounts of drugs and explosives inside packages.

When you consider all these blind spots in our senses, it is obvious that humans live in a world in which many sights, sounds and smells exist that are beyond the ability of our limited senses to detect; and those that we can detect can be compromised by our overactive minds. It’s enough to make you think that all human perception is, fundamentally, just an illusion; or as Bob Dylan keenly observed “All the truth in the world adds up to one big lie“.

It could well be that we are each living in our own virtual reality world, bound by the limitations of our physical senses and the tricks employed by our minds. Dr Laeng believes we each do live in a virtual reality world. Much of what we see is an illusion, but we are not really being tricked – he believes the visual illusions help to reveal the mismatches between what our eyes see and what our mind’s eye thinks is happening.

So what lessons can we take away about how to live our lives knowing the limits of our senses and the tendency of our brains to trick us into seeing what it wants us to see.

One lesson is that we should remind ourselves that things are not always what they appear. It is possible for two people to witness the same event but still give contradictory descriptions of what they saw; even though they are certain their description of events are true. Knowing that our eyes are susceptible to being tricked should make the criminal justice system wary of judging guilt based solely on the testimony of eye-witnesses.

Another lesson is to be careful of letting our minds be swayed by our pre-conceived biases and political opinions. If we each live in our own virtual worlds then we need to be careful of falling into the trap of accepting information that matches our biases and opinions while discarding facts that don’t. If more people were careful to seek out an objective, agreed-upon, reality then maybe there would be less disagreement and discord in today’s society.

Finally, we should all be humbled and filled with wonder knowing that what our senses reveal to us is only a small portion of the great wide-world we live in. There is a whole universe out there beyond our human senses – a twilight zone if you will, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of the mind, one where there is so much more for us to discover.

“It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity”

I recently completed watching the brilliant science fiction themed television series Black Mirror on Netflix. The episodes were chilling and had me wondering how society will manage to maintain its humanity and compassion in the face of ever-increasing advances in technology.

All of the Black Mirror episodes deal with life in the near future – showing us the potential impact and unintended consequences that new technologies could inflict on our society if they are misused. The series name “Black Mirror” is a reference to the ubiquitous black screen surfaces that stare back at us while we fixate on our smartphone, tablet, television and personal digital assistant devices.

Each episode in the series is independent of the others and can be viewed in any order, similar to the iconic Twilight Zone television series created by Rod Serling. Black Mirror episodes differ however in that they are longer, darker and more focused on contemporary themes related to unease about our modern world.

The show’s creator Charlie Brooker said he wanted Black Mirror to focus on the side effects of technology and highlight the areas between delight and discomfort where it resides. The show touches on important ideas – the false way we sometimes present ourselves online, our growing addiction to virtual lives and even a touching exploration of grief.

Below is a brief synopsis of each of the episodes in the series along with a list of the important issues they raise about how technology could be used in the future:

National Anthem – A beloved princess and a member of the British royal family is kidnapped and held hostage. Her freedom is guaranteed on one condition: The prime minister must have sex with a pig, live on national television.

This episode highlights the increasingly tenuous grasp governments have controlling the information they want to disseminate to the public because of the uncontrollable power of social media, viral videos and internet leaks. Other issues raised are rules for how to effectively deal with terrorists who target celebrities, how all political decisions are being driven using real time popularity polling data and the difficulty of being a responsible journalist in the age of instant communication.

Fifteen Million Merits – Set in a bleak future, where most of society must cycle on exercise bikes to power their surroundings and earn currency called “Merits” that can be used to buy food from vending machines or watch shows from giant television screens. The only way out of being a caged rat on an exercise wheel is to trade-in your merits to enter the talent game show “Hot Shots” (similar to X-Factor) where the winners can escape by choosing to become part of the national entertainment industrial complex – or the attractive ones can choose, under the influence of a drug called ‘compliance milk’, to become stars on one of the national porn channels.

This episode raises the potential danger of technology being used by governments and industries to enslave the people and highlights society’s trend toward glorifying the false and superficial at the expense of the real.

The Entire History of You – Shows a society where most people have computerized ‘grains’ implanted in their skulls recording everything they do – allowing them to play back their memories in front of their eyes or on a screen for all to see. We watch a marriage unravel as a husband forces his wife to play back scenes from her past.

This episode explores the effect body camera technology and memories uploaded to the cloud could have on relationships when it becomes impossible to keep secrets anymore.

Be Right Back – As a woman mourns the sudden death of her boyfriend in a car accident, she learns of a company employing artificial intelligence that can create a hauntingly accurate replica of him, first as a phone app, then as an actual body using synthetic flesh; his personality and likeness created from the output of all his social media communications, emails and everything he ever tweeted or instant messaged or filmed himself doing on the internet.

This episode exposes the limits of artificial intelligence in replacing the human spirit and raises the question about what should happen to our online ‘presence’ after we are gone.

White Bear –  As punishment for a horrific crime, a woman must relive the same nightmare every day (and go through a painful memory wiping process at the end of each day). She is forced to navigate a brutal, merciless world, filled with horrifying imagery, before an audience who pays to secretly watch her suffer.

This episode shows the tendency in society to dress up the humiliation and punishment of others in the name of entertainment and wonders if it is possible to sympathize with someone whose crime was unforgivable.

The Waldo Moment – The comedian behind a blue cartoon bear named Waldo comically interviews politicians and other authority figures – making fun of their hypocrisy and the corrupt political system. As a joke his producer decides to have Waldo run for election to become the town’s member of Parliament. The joke begins to take on unexpected proportions as Waldo’s popularity begins to gain traction with the public.

This episode comes close to reflecting the reality of recent elections across the world that feature cartoon-like anti-establishment candidates who try to win elections by appealing to disaffected voters using social media channels to spread populist messages that play to the fears of the populace and divide the voting public.

White Christmas – Three interconnected stories show a “communication facilitator” who applies psychological based technology in the not too distant future to help desperate men pickup girls, train newly created artificial intelligence slaves and manipulate criminals to confess guilt to crimes that they have committed.

This episode imagines the chilling ways technology could be used in the future against the cracks of human weakness and how such an uncaring world would destroy any possibility of mercy and peace for its citizens.

Nosedive – Paints a picture of a world where all people are judged by their social media rating. Society’s status and benefits accrue to the members that have the highest rating, transforming every encounter with others into an exercise in false playacting, as disclosing your true emotions could negatively affect your “score” – which all people can see instantly by wearing special contact lenses.

This episode warns about the danger of a society becoming overly obsessed with their social media ratings and how developing technology can drive humanity to indulge in its shallowest impulses. It is a little eerie as we can see China experimenting today with using social media ratings as a means to control and encourage good behavior of the people.

Playtest – We witness a video game company testing games using new technology which allows the program to have access to the user’s brain – as well as the deepest and darkest fears of their minds.

This episode shows how the arms race between video game manufacturers to develop ever more realistic and adrenaline producing products could have deadly consequences to those who become exposed to them.

Shut Up and Dance – A hacker who has compromising electronic evidence on  a group of guilt-ridden online users blackmails them into performing a series of increasingly dangerous crimes to avoid having their secrets exposed.

This episode exploits one of the most pervasive nightmares of the modern age: what if someone’s watching you at your most vulnerable? And what if they have it all on videotape?

San Junipero – The minds of the dead or near dying have an option to live alternative versions of their younger selves forever in a simulated reality of their choosing.

This episode shows the hopeful ways that technology could be used in a humane way to ease the passing of those nearing end of life – merciful palliative care designed for no greater goal than easing the suffering of others. But does that mean we would lose the value that comes from accepting that suffering is an essential part of existence?

Men Against Fire – When a future society determines that its soldiers on the front line have difficulty hunting and exterminating the enemy because they look too much like them, they invent new technology that when implanted into their soldiers makes the enemy appear as vile, horrific mutants called “roaches”.

This episode raises the concern about how technology could be misused over time to perfect state-sponsored murder, strip people deemed “undesirables” of their humanity and turn soldiers into remorseless killing machines.

Hated in the Nation – The collapse of the bee colonies forces the government to create hundreds of thousands of mechanical bee drones whose purpose is to help pollinate the country’s crops. Unknown to the populace, the military includes cameras in the bee drones so they can be used secretly to help the national security agencies spy on suspected criminals. A hacker manages to gain control of the bee army and turns them into killing machines that first target hated public figures – before revealing that the ultimate target is all the people spouting hate speech on the Internet and thinking they can hide behind online anonymity.

This episode shows one scenario where the technology that is designed to protect us instead turns against us and how the pressure of hate speech from anonymous online forums can have bad consequences.

Collectively these stories paint a grim picture of technology running amok and bringing out the worst in human nature. It’s a perspective that technology is a trap and is going to change us all for the worse. After all, we are the race that built the atomic bomb and Albert Einstein, the man whose genius helped to make it a reality, expressed his own concern when he wrote:

“It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity”

But I do not see technology as the enemy. I spent my entire adult career in the high technology field, inventing technologies that manufacturers could use to test their circuit board electronics and ensure that they were defect free and reliable. I was on the front lines during the birth of the personal computer, the world wide web, cell phones and smart phones, cloud-based computing and self-driving vehicles. I have witnessed up close the positive impacts these technologies have had on our society.

Technology is not inherently evil, but just like anything else it can be misused and abused if we are not careful to regulate how it can be used in a way that protects people from getting hurt. Robert Pirsig, the author of Zen and the Art of Motorcyle Maintenance captured this sentiment when he wrote:

“What’s wrong with technology is that it’s not connected in any real way with matters of the spirit and of the heart. And so it does blind, ugly things. Humans are needed to put the brakes on it”.

So, I encourage you all to watch the Black Mirror shows and then go out and do you own part to help put the brakes on technology use that crosses the line.