Help me articulate the concept of how unfamiliarity and familiarity alter perception. [more inside]
posted by DeltaForce on Nov 15, 2009 - 16 answers

What suggestions do you have to help me be more sensuous? [more inside]
posted by Pineapplicious on Nov 8, 2009 - 15 answers

Why can't I, and how can I, hear my dad's accent? [more inside]
posted by Saxon Kane on Sep 16, 2009 - 21 answers

Tomato question: Did something happen late last Autumn that could have caused low-priced/budget tomatoes in (U.S.) fast-food restaurants and supermarkets to become radically better tasting? My perception of increased quality had a sudden onset, was not chain-specific, not geographically localized, and is shared by a handful of friends. [more inside]
posted by jjjjjjjijjjjjjj on Aug 17, 2009 - 13 answers

How do you perceive people who wear glasses? Do people who wear glasses notice any difference in how people perceive you when you are wearing them vs. not wearing them? [more inside]
posted by comatose on Jul 24, 2009 - 76 answers

SociologyFilter: "We are living in a society in which our perception is directed almost as often to representations as it is to ‘reality’" (Scott Lash). Any recommended writings on this notion, more recent than Baudrillard and Eco, and preferably with an emphasis on film, will be eagerly devoured.
posted by Holly on Jul 6, 2009 - 5 answers

What color is St. Charles Place in Monopoly? [more inside]
posted by newper on Jul 5, 2009 - 35 answers

Which way is West? [more inside]
posted by crazylegs on Jul 1, 2009 - 34 answers

"What science fiction short story is this?" filter. One story about body switching/different perceptions, and another about mindreading. [more inside]
posted by anthy on Feb 25, 2009 - 10 answers

How can you make sure that the way you view yourself is not too far removed from how you're perceived by others? [more inside]
posted by lgandme0717 on Jan 19, 2009 - 20 answers

Is there a term for that feeling when you realize someone else notices (or notices in a particular way) something you had never thought of anyone else paying attention to, or viewing similarly? [more inside]
posted by phrontist on Dec 19, 2008 - 12 answers

I heard a term somewhere that referred to the modern phenomena of sounds being decoupled from what produces them, in the sense that it's no longer a one-to-one relationship between sound and thing. So whereas previously every time you heard a bark you knew it was a dog, now it could be a TV, a computer, or a robot dog. Likewise, a big professional sound system could sound like almost anything. I think the originator was an academic. I distinctly remembering seeing mention of this on wikipedia once. What was that term? Who coined it?
posted by phrontist on Dec 9, 2008 - 5 answers

Do you ever perceive another person's face as being the mirror image of what it "ought" to be? [more inside]
posted by Tube on Nov 12, 2008 - 8 answers

Dear doctors, nurses, undertakers, anatomists, and other professional seers of the secrets of the human body: how does your daily interaction with the inner workings of man affect the way you see your friends and lovers? [more inside]
posted by prefpara on Nov 10, 2008 - 11 answers

To what extent can we discern different colours? What of this power is merely relational (a light blue, a lighter blue)? Have studies been done to determine if our "resolution of discernment" (a particular distance in nanometers of which we can differentiate two visual wavelengths with unaided vision)? What's the difference between how we speak of colour, how we conjure it up in its particularity in our imagination, and how we differentiate it through experience? [more inside]
posted by ageispolis on Oct 31, 2008 - 13 answers

How is it that as you grow older your perception of people's faces as being roughly in your age group grows with it? [more inside]
posted by =^^= on Oct 27, 2008 - 9 answers

I'm trying to find a psychological/sociological study on men and women's views of the ideal female body type. [more inside]
posted by Jaltcoh on Oct 19, 2008 - 6 answers

In an image like this, does the alignments of the faces affect the viewers' perceptions or opinions of the people, and if so, does this cognitive bias for or against left or right carry over even to images where the faces are the same (Ie: "I think both people on the left side of either image look more trustworthy.")? Does the alignment of a single subject and addition of negative space also have an affect ("The woman in the second image looks meaner.")? I'm not so much asking for a referendum on these particular examples as I am curious about any empirical studies or statistics relating to this topic. Thanks!
posted by Alvy Ampersand on Sep 27, 2008 - 2 answers

The phenomenology / ontology of text: has anyone examined this issue directly in philosophical, literary and/or critical terms? [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Sep 18, 2008 - 26 answers

Can a "low-functioning" artistic person like me maintain a great relationship with a "high-functioning" creative business man? [more inside]
posted by InterestedInKnowing on Sep 13, 2008 - 5 answers

Recommend some works similar to The Long Tail, Predictably Irrational, and Freakonomics. [more inside]
posted by joshrholloway on Aug 20, 2008 - 25 answers

What are some examples of psychological studies demonstrating how people are less perceptive than they believe? [more inside]
posted by Lownotes on Aug 1, 2008 - 11 answers

Why does red text on black background appears 'closer to me' than green text on black background, when the two text elements are next to each-other? Other combinations yield all kinds of different 'distances'. [more inside]
posted by spacefire on Jun 1, 2008 - 7 answers

I'm looking for great websites that focus on the misconceptions that modern cultures have about one another. A (hopefully) better explanation, as well as a super-deluxe bonus question inside. (Including some begging!) [more inside]
posted by Fuzzy Skinner on Apr 30, 2008 - 17 answers

A google search confirms: "Time flies when you're having fun" is actually true, because the body's internal clock is influenced by dopamine. However, when the alarm goes off and I groggily stumble out of bed, it has been my life-long experience that times passes quickly. This seems like a contradiction. [more inside]
posted by proj08 on Apr 19, 2008 - 7 answers

Why does our brain perceive tilt-shift photography as tiny little toy models? I'd love to know the science behind this popular effect.
posted by waxpancake on Apr 10, 2008 - 19 answers

Recursion filter: I recently came across the phrase 'Mise en Abyme' and have become fascinated by recursion in literature, language and film. What writings have used these themes in their form to address the questions they posed? [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Apr 2, 2008 - 20 answers

Name-my-major, Hivemind. So I go to an unusual school in that we don't have clear-cut majors, and we basically pick an area of "focus". I'm actually currently (unofficially) studying my own brain, because it's strangely hampered in certain capacities (like the process of reading music, despite being very musical and understanding cognitively exactly what's going on), or performing basic math (despite endless repetition). It's also weirdly bolstered in other regards: I have an unbelievable propensity for forming the visual "distortions" one might associate with hallucinogens. [more inside]
posted by dmaterialized on Mar 13, 2008 - 14 answers

I am looking for writings on the infinity of definition. [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Mar 13, 2008 - 32 answers

You buy a Volvo, and suddenly you start noticing every Volvo on the road. [more inside]
posted by DWRoelands on Feb 15, 2008 - 13 answers

How is the meaning of art and artefacts being altered by the methods we use to: Experience, Define and Preserve them... In other words, in what ways have technologies been used to experience, re-define and/or preserve art and artifacts? [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Feb 5, 2008 - 12 answers

I photograph very poorly. [more inside]
posted by porpoise on Jan 27, 2008 - 30 answers

The South: from King of the Hill to Real Life™ and beyond. Help me sort out some questions I have on the nature of the South! [more inside]
posted by Lockeownzj00 on Jan 1, 2008 - 46 answers

What do you know about the Japanese word/concept of 'Ma'? I know it denotes the negative space between objects and it relates closely to the similarly used Japanese word 'Mu'. [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Dec 27, 2007 - 15 answers

Hypotension/hypovolemia as a low-pass filter: I got cut, I went into shock, and then everything started sounding funny. I'd guess it was a 40 dB (±10) rolloff, which began near 200 Hz (±50) and left me with nothing above 1kHz. How in the world? Story, discussion of numeric estimates, off-the-cuff physiological speculations, etc... [more inside]
posted by eritain on May 12, 2007 - 24 answers

Mental decline, perception and creativity. Layperson looking to understand the medical changes that happen during aging-related mental decline, mental illness and dementia -- and looking for any research or just speculation re. various ways "reduced function" might translate into "different/new function" or "different modes of perception." [more inside]
posted by allterrainbrain on Apr 27, 2007 - 10 answers

"A human is halfway in size between an atom and the known universe"... This is a paraphrased quote I have come across several times. I like it. Who said it first? How true is it in the most literal sense? And, finally, what errors arrive in postulating a universe, or an atom, which can be measured AT ALL from our singular, relativistic, perspective? [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Feb 18, 2007 - 14 answers

What do you call co-opting other people's memories, accounts, and stories for your own memories in a deja vu-like moment? [more inside]
posted by SBMike on Feb 12, 2007 - 15 answers

How can I stop caring so much about the appearance and status of my house and neighborhood? [more inside]
posted by LoriFLA on Jan 9, 2007 - 46 answers

I've noticed a significant amount of bigotry emerging in my thinking. To be more specific, I find myself being irritated by people from a certain group and I find myself blaming their irritating-ness on their ethnicity. (Which ethnicity? I'd rather not say and I don't think it matters.) Any suggestions on how to nip this in the bud? Books? Healing your Inner Bigot? For the record, I don't think my perception is accurate. The thoughts persist though and are emerging more often to my dismay.
posted by Aghast. on Nov 30, 2006 - 32 answers

How often can you feel small earthquakes in Southern California? My girlfriend thinks I'm crazy, but I'm often convinced I've felt a small earthquake. Are there degrees of earthquake perception for different people? [more inside]
posted by SBMike on Oct 13, 2006 - 27 answers

The Protagonist: What can you tell me? [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Jun 8, 2006 - 17 answers

Any film that is pornographic in nature depicts sex as an interaction of two bodies that resembles two jackhammers fighting. Anything rated 18 or lower pictures sex as something that happens with virtually no movement and very little exertion. Why have these two forms not only seperated but moved quite so far apart? [it'll probably get NSFW in here] [more inside]
posted by twine42 on Apr 10, 2006 - 23 answers

Why did consciousness evolve? [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Jan 25, 2006 - 39 answers

In the U.S., we get all caught up in the decisions that adult women make and the consequences of those decisions. (To have children, not to have children, to work, to stay home with the children, not to work, to marry, to have children without marrying, etc.) Are there similar convulsions about these cultural issues in other countries, especially non-English speaking ones? How can I learn about them? I'm curious both about how women's roles in in their societies are changing and about how those societies are reacting to the changes.
posted by croutonsupafreak on Nov 30, 2005 - 6 answers

Inspired by this question, I have to ask the opposite. I've found that as I've gotten older, things in the past seem VERY VERY far away. [more inside]
posted by Caviar on Sep 16, 2005 - 10 answers

Why is time passing so quickly? [more inside]
posted by BorgLove on Sep 15, 2005 - 37 answers

I have been searching for sunglasses that do not have separate lenses. I have a lazy eye and a bulky nose piece or any kind of separation that blocks my peripheral vision, ( is it still "peripheral"l if it is the vision from the side of the eye toward the nose?) screws up my depth perception and gives me headaches, not to mention causing me to trip. What I need is a strip of lens material that wraps seamlessly across both eyes. I have looked at bikers glasses but they all undulate at the nose which causes a visual obstruction. They need to provide protection from uv, uvb exposure, it would be nice also to have halfway decent optics.
posted by flummox on Apr 28, 2005 - 8 answers

I once read a book that talked about Time and how the concept of time is different in each culture. It mentioned this: In the US we would make a doctors appointment at 3pm and we made sure to show up at this time and would expect to be served at or close to this time...in another country you set the appointment for 3pm, but your would arrive about 4pm and the doctor would get to you until 5pm and thats how life is there... [more inside]
posted by matthelm on Mar 6, 2005 - 8 answers

This has puzzled me for a long time. People who've been blind since birth - how can they dream images? Do they? Without a visual history for reference, how can it happen?
posted by davebush on Jan 31, 2005 - 7 answers