We often come across pictures where our mind perceives the image as something else. Based on our own expectations, we perceive those images differently. That is due to parallel processing; the ability of the brain to attend to many sense modalities simultaneously of differing qualities. There are two concepts that follow along with parallel processing. The bottom-up processing is when a whole image is constructed from parts of the picture. For example based on a person's own expectation of the picture shown below, they would see the image of a man's face. The tunnel part makes up the eye on the left and the branch sticking out from the tree makes up the other eye. Along with the eyes, the woman in the field makes up the nose and mouth. Here, our brain's expectations perceived the image of a man's face. On the other hand, with our second concept, the top-down process, the brain's function would allow the person to see the image of the woman in the field. Both of these processes are due to our own expectations or knowledge which influences our perception of pictures that we see.
Good post! No matter how long I look I still can't see the man's face! I enjoyed your short yet concise summary of parallel processing. The image you chose also goes along quite nicely with your topic. With this image, I think most Americans look at art and try to see the big picture. Looking for the subject, the foreground, and the background. We don't expect to see a man's face disguised in the picture, so our eyes skim over the image completely missing it.
I love optical illusions like these! This one is really cool because the image is detailed. Learning about how our brain is able to process these types of images and make sense of multiple pictures in one is really amazing. I think it's interesting too how different people see different images.
Even after learning about parallel processing and how our brains perceive things differently it, I am still dumbfounded at how I can look at the picture and see one thing, then look back seconds later and see another thing. I really enjoyed the picture you used!
I tend to always see the images that should be there. I would think that in most cases, people see the woman first but I do see the man's face as well. The man's face is just not complete. I think image such as the wine glass and two faces are a lot more 50/50 in terms of what viewers see.