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Perception (including recent related patents.)
PerceptionIn psychology and the cognitive sciences, perception is the process of acquiring, interpreting, selecting, and organizing sensory information. Methods of studying perception range from essentially biological or physiological approaches, through psychological approaches to the often abstract 'thought-experiments' of mental philosophy. Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 The senses 2 History of the study of perception 3 Perception and reality 4 See also 5 External links The senses Human perception depends on the five senses of Sight, Hearing, Smell, Taste and Touch along with the often neglected sense of proprioception. Beyond these, some believe in the existence of other senses such as precognition (or foretelling) or telepathy (direct communication between human minds/brains without transmittance through any other medium). While these are controversial, it is known that animals of other species possess senses that are not found in humans: for example, some fish can detect electric fields, while pigeons have been shown to detect magnetic fields and to use them in homing. History of the study of perception The subjective nature of perception, and hence of cognition, has attracted the attention of philosophers since antiquity, for example in the qualia which have been known since the Sufi thinkers, or in the extreme idealism of George Berkeley. Perception is one of the oldest fields within scientific psychology, and there are correspondingly many theories about its underlying processes. The oldest quantitative law in psychology is the Weber-Fechner Law, which quantifies the relationship between the intensity of physical stimuli and their perceptual effects. It was the study of perception that gave rise to the Gestalt school of psychology, with its emphasis on holistic approaches. Perception and reality Many cognitive psychologists hold that, as we move about in the world, we create a model of how the world works. That is, we sense the objective world, but our sensations map to percepts, and these percepts are provisional, in the same sense that scientific hypotheses are provisional (cf. in the scientific method). As we acquire new information, our percepts shift. Abraham Pais' biography refers to the 'esemplastic' nature of imagination. In the case of visual perception, some people can actually see the percept shift in their mind's eye. Others who are not picture thinkers, may not necessarily perceive the 'shape-shifting' as their world changes. The 'esemplastic' nature has been shown by experiment: an ambiguous image has multiple interpretations on the perceptual level. Just as one object can give rise to multiple percepts, so an object may fail to give rise to any percept at all: if the percept has no grounding in a person's experience, the person may literally not perceive it. These confusing ambiguity of perception is exploited in human technologies such as camouflage, and also in biological mimicry, for example by Peacock butterflies, whose wings bear eye markings that birds respond to as though they were the eyes of a dangerous predator. See also
This article is adapted from from Wikipedia All Wikipedia article text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License Mind Wide Open : Your Brain and the Neuroscience of Everyday Life by Steven Johnson Limitless Mind: A Guide to Remote Viewing and Transformation of Consciousness by Russell Targ The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes Monster (rpkg) by Walter Dean Myers Taming Your Gremlin (Revised Edition): A Surprisingly Simple Method for Getting Out of Your Own Way by Rick Carson The Culture of Fear: Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things by Barry Glassner Entre Nous: A Woman's Guide to Finding Her Inner French Girl by Debra Ollivier Parenting from the Inside-Out: How a Deeper Self-Understanding Can Help You Raise Children Who Thrive by Daniel J. Siegel The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler Brag!: The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing it by Peggy Klaus The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell by Aldous Huxley Zoom by Istvan Banyai Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco The Spell of the Sensuous : Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World by David Abram Recent Perception related patents From USPTO: 6718360: Providing predictable scheduling of programs using a repeating precomputed schedule 6718309: Continuously variable time scale modification of digital audio signals 6718306: Speech collating apparatus and speech collating method 6718296: Measurement of signal quality 6718232: Robot device and behavior control method for robot device 6718209: Retinal prosthesis with remote return electrode 6718199: Measurement of electrophysiologic response 6718182: Modularized functionality enhancement for a cellular telephone 6718104: Tiled electro-optic interactive display and illumination apparatus 6718074: Method and apparatus for inspection for under-resolved features in digital images 6718065: Optimized signal quantification 6718056: Method of automatic determination of the contrast and brightness of a digital radiographic image 6718047: Watermark embedder and reader 6718039: Acoustic correction apparatus 6717732: Vehicle rear-view mirror and method of making same 6717728: System and method for visualization of stereo and multi aspect images 6717712: Exterior mirror plano-auxiliary reflective element assembly 6717625: Method and device for adjusting one or more projectors 6717585: Color conversion characteristic determining method, image display device, and recording medium 6717578: Graphics system with a variable-resolution sample buffer 6717573: Low-cost haptic mouse implementations 6717558: Method for processing video pictures for display on a display device and apparatus for carrying out the method 6717031: Method for selecting a transgenic mouse model of alzheimer's disease 6716986: Sulfuric acid mono-[3-({1-[2-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-ethyl]-piperidin-4-YL}-hydroxy-methyl)-2- methoxy-phenyl]ester 6716868: (-)-1-(3,4-Dichlorophenyl)-3-azabicyclo[3.1.0]hexane, compositions thereof, and uses as a dopamine-reuptake inhibitor 6716857: Tetrahydropyridine derivatives acting on muscarinic acetylcholine receptors 6716846: High affinity ligands for nociceptin receptor ORL-1 6716837: Heterocyclic compounds for the treatment of migraine 6716805: HARD SURFACE CLEANING COMPOSITIONS, PREMOISTENED WIPES, METHODS OF USE, AND ARTICLES COMPRISING SAID COMPOSITIONS OR WIPES AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE RESULTING IN EASIER CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE, IMPROVED SURFACE APPEARANCE AND/OR HYGIENE UNDER STRESS CONDITIONS SUCH AS NO-RINSE 6716775: Range-dyed face finished fabrics exhibiting non-directional surface fiber characteristics 6716560: Gloss-controlling toner compositions 6716498: Applications for substance encapsulating laminate web 6716462: Nutritionally balanced traditional snack foods 6716440: Wet-skin treatment compositions 6716418: Multifunctional particulate additive for personal care and cosmetic compositions, and the process of making the same 6716137: Method for controlling camless engine having an automatically controlled transmission 6716136: Powertrain control method for minimizing effects of engine torque disturbances 6715901: Image projector system having a light source that includes at least four light emitting diode modules 6715762: System for providing entertainment and enhancing human relationships 6715630: Disposable food container with a linear sidewall profile and an arcuate outer flange 6715173: Modular sleep systems with friction-secured comfort unit 6715150: Visor for a helmet 6715145: Processing pipeline in a base services pattern environment 6715080: Making CGI variables and cookie information available to an OLTP system 6715045: Host cache for haptic feedback effects 6714983: Modular, portable data processing terminal for use in a communication network 6714915: System and method for project designing and developing a procurement and accounts payable system 6714893: Enhanced concern indicator failure prediction system 6714818: System and method of generating an optimal three-step defibrillation waveform for use in an implantable cardioverter/defibrillator (ICD) |