Visual Intelligence: How We Create What We See

by Donald D. Hoffman

Hoffman explains that far from being a passive recorder of a preexisting world, the eye actively constructs every aspect of our visual experience.Visual intelligence, cognitive scientist Donald Hoffman writes, is the power that people use to "construct an experience of objects out of colors, lines, and motions." And what an underappreciated ability it is, too; despite the fact that the visual process uses up a considerable chunk of our brainpower, we're only just learning how it works. Hoffman aptly demonstrates the mysterious constructive powers of our eye-brain machines using lots of simple drawings and diagrams to illustrate basic rules of the visual road. Many of the examples are familiar optical illusions--perspective-confounding cubes, a few lines that add up to a more complex shape than seems right. Hoffman also takes a cue from Oliver Sacks, employing anecdotes about people with various specific visual malfunctions to both further his mechanical explanation of visual intelligence and drive home how important this little-understood aspect of cognition can be in our lives. An especially intriguing example involves a boy, blind from birth, who is surgically given the power to see. At first, he is completely unable to visually distinguish objects familiar by touch, such as the cat and the dog. Other poignant examples show clearly how image construction is normally linked to our emotional well-being and sense of place. Visual Intelligence is a fascinating, confounding look (as it were) at an aspect of human physiology and psychology that very few of us think about much at all. --Therese Littleton

Genres: Psychology, Science, Nonfiction, Art, Philosophy, Design, Neuroscience

320 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1998

About the author

Donald D. Hoffman received a Ph.D. from MIT in 1983 and is a Professor of Cognitive Sciences at the University of California, Irvine. His research on perception, evolution, and consciousness received the Troland Award of the US National Academy of Sciences, the Distinguished Scientific Award for Early Career Contribution of the American Psychological Association, the Rustum Roy Award of the Chopra Foundation, and is the subject of his TED Talk, titled "Do we see reality as it is?"

Reviews

[India M. Clamp · Rating 3 out of 5]

We begin with the opening of our eyes, and behold the world (in all its dimensions appears before us). How many neurons and synapses are engaged in the seemingly effortless task of seeing? How is one artists vision different from the vision of another. The constructs of the reality engine do vary and we may endeavor to compare the mind of Leonardo Da Vinci to Caravaggio for an understanding.

"Physics and evolution point to the same conclusion: spacetime and objects are not foundational. Something else is more fundamental, and spacetime emerges from it.”
—Donald D. Hoffman

It is a strange notion to think that the power of creation belongs to the viewer. This would mean the nightmare for some and heaven for others is one we created for ourselves. Science has an entirely different conclusion. Life cannot be created from scratch "non sumus deus." Synthetic biology does imitate living organisms.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps I am biased, having a background in the arts, but this was one of the most fascinating science books I have ever read.

It is not a particularly controversial position to state that human beings do not see reality as it objectively exists; rather, we see an interpretation of reality based on the equipment we are working with (that is, human brains and bodies). As Thomas Nagel once pointed out, if you were a bat, your interpretation of reality would be completely different since you would be working with different sensory equipment that would provide you with different environmental feedback. (In fact, there is a short section near the beginning of the book detailing how a few different species perceive and navigate the world).

The thesis of this book is that human cognitive equipment comes with innate rules that shape our perceptions of reality. He elaborates on this with findings in neuroscience, experiments in cognitive psychology, and optical illusions that demonstrate how our perceptions work. Particularly interesting were the case studies where the equipment breaks down or is damaged. Probably the most well known of these is synesthesia (the cross wiring of two senses) but some of these conditions are truly bizarre: visual form agnosia (you can see colour, motion, and edges but you cannot bind them together as objects), paraprosopia (the different parts that make up an object - a human face, for instance - morph and change), hemiachromatopsia (seeing half of your visual field in colour and half in black and white), akinotopsia (you can see stationary objects but you cannot see them in motion), etc.

For the philosophically minded, a final chapter indulges in a wee spot of open ended ontological speculation.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the interests of full disclosure, I must state at the beginning of my review that the author of this book was my doctoral advisor, and remains a good friend.

That said, this is a wonderful book for anyone who is curious about their visual sense. How do our eyes really work? How is the information conveyed to our brains? What happens to the information once it's there? Hoffman gives very good explanations of the mechanisms that underlie our visual sense, and uses anecdotes and examples of those with visual dysfunctions to illustrate where the visual sense can go wrong.

There are numerous illustrations in the book of common (and not so common) visual illusions. I have used many of these examples in teaching a college sensation and perception class, but they are completely accessible and understandable to anyone, whether or not you have a background in psychology.

[Mishehu · Rating 5 out of 5]

A feast for the philosophically and cognitive scientifically inclined. Ever wonder why you see what you see? How you see what you see? Why your eyes seem, at times, to betray you? The answers to many such questions lie between the covers of this slim outstanding popular science treatment. Visual Intelligence is a fascinating and highly lucid book, start to finish. I have a few much weightier books on vision science on my shelves. Having been completely drawn in by this outstanding introduction, I'm now eager to dive into them. Great book!

[Nicholas · Rating 3 out of 5]

35 rules that government perception of shapes, colours and motion. Bar the last two chapters, that concern the philosophical implications of the phenomenal and relational, through virtual reality metaphors, I found this slightly more than a chore to read. This is due to the less than clear writing style and the fact that describing visual elements and movement ain't easy. There are however many illustrations and a link to a website for the motion based ones, that clarify things somewhat, but that doesn't override the dullness of the main text, which tends to stullify.

[Daniel Hageman · Rating 5 out of 5]

While this book requires a lot of focus while reading, if not in the least to fully understand the multitude of pictorial examples utilized, it's material truly is as original as it comes, at least in what I've read/heard discussed. The final chapter lays out exactly why this thesis is profound, at the very least in the epistemological sense when contemplating 'reality'.

I certainly have more questions regarding the implications in practice, like why it's even though that science can be used to test theories about reality itself, but I'm guessing much of that is covered in his most recent book, which I will get to soon!

"Take seriously not only what you see, but everything you experience, but don't take it literally."

Also, if you're the kind of person that loves optical illusions, and wants to understand why they function in our perception the way they do, this is THE book for you.

[venrir song · Rating 4 out of 5]

RU
Как нейроучёного, меня особенно заинтересовало, насколько ясно и увлекательно книга раскрывает природу зрительного восприятия. Автор не просто объясняет, как мозг «видит» он показывает, как именно реальность рождается внутри нас. Это одновременно научно обоснованно и философски насыщенно. Настоящее удовольствие для тех, кто хочет понять не только зрение, но и саму природу сознания.
DE
Als Neurowissenschaftler fand ich dieses Buch besonders faszinierend. Es erklärt nicht nur, wie das Gehirn sieht, sondern wie es Wirklichkeit erschafft. Die Tiefe, mit der visuelle Wahrnehmung beschrieben wird, ist sowohl wissenschaftlich präzise als auch geistreich. Ein Muss für alle, die verstehen wollen, wie das Sehen zur inneren Welt wird.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had Professor Hoffman as a lecturer while I was in college. He is fantastic, and his writing gets his point across in a very straight forward way. This was honestly one of my favorite books about the human brain, perception, and how those shape consciousness.

Lots of cool examples and yes, there is a bit of math, but it's all very plainly laid out and easy to follow. It's not terribly exciting, but the concepts are interesting. This book is good for when you're ankle-deep in existential crisis and do not necessarily want to wade out quite yet.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book about how much brain power goes into "seeing" - a lot more than capturing an image goes on inside our head. In fact, we can't help but interpret some images. The author, a researcher in the field, shows how our brains interpret images through showing us images. He will take an optical illusion and show how varying its construction leads us to different interpretations, and so shows us what our brains are interpreting. The book is approachable and readable, with a solid set of references behind each piece of research presented.

[Danielle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Good idea, good premise, but is basically an entry level design course in a textbook. A better version of the same topic would be anything by Joseph Albers and the Bauhaus, or any film color theory like "If it's Purple Someone's Going to Die"

[Ray Ogar · Rating 4 out of 5]

5* on ideas.
3* on the overuse of the words "you are a visual genius" and occasional verbosity.

[Hazel Gale · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn’t rate this book more highly. Utterly fascinating, brilliantly written and a complete geek fest (that’s a good thing).

[Lily Morache]

i read bits and pieces of Hoffmans work in college - he was a prof at UCI actually. his work changed how i think about reality and perception.

[Dr. A · Rating 4 out of 5]

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Read this and more reviews of Western Philosophy books on the History page of www.BestPhilosophyBooks.org (a thinkPhilosophy Production).
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This is a more readable, updated version of some of the discussions in Arnheim's _Visual Thinking._ With chapter titles like "Spontaneous Morphing" and "The Feel of a Phantom," you know you are in for some spectral fun. The examples in this book are so cool -- visual puzzles and visual principles are demonstrated... well, visually. I'd give an example, but I've only got words in here!

This has been helpful in thinking and writing about photography and film, but it leaves me wondering: if visual intelligence is so queer to start with, what could we queers possibly contribute to the re-education of sight....

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Read this and more reviews of Western Philosophy books on the History page of www.BestPhilosophyBooks.org (a thinkPhilosophy Production).
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[Rajiv Chopra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this book, and in one sense there is no need to give it a three star rating. The book has been very well laid out, and systematically guides through the reader through the various aspects of seeing, and how we form images in our brain and the "confusion" between the three and two dimensional world, in how we draw out three dimensional images on the two dimensional space. There is enough here to entertain and educate the reader.

The only reason I give this a three star reading, and not a four star rating, is that I, personally, would have been happier with a more engaging style in writing.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

all about how we "see", that is, construct a model of our world using our visual sense, which is likely a very different process from how you think of "seeign"! very clearly written; explained with care. law of "generic views" writ large.

highly recommended to people who wonder what's real and what's imagined, and who have even a little scientific curiosity. fine for any age.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

An awesome book about how we construct everything we see. Lots of pictures and visual examples make the book a fun read. It's pretty intense though. Enjoyable if you're a bit of a science nerd and like knowing how things work.

[Beneth]

trippy dippy. looks interesting.

[Jason Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book on perception...

[S]

Norton, 1998

visual intelligence/cognitive science for dummies; i.e. intro
effective visual exercises to help understanding

cognitive science has come a long way in ten years...

[Aaron Dalton · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://perlkonig.com/2011/05/09/visua...

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

As it was my professor who wrote this... I found it quite interesting to go deeper into his thoughts on the mind and body problem.

[W.K. Dwyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book teaches you more about your own psychology than any other book i have ever read. simply amazing how he explains the actual formation of memory and representations in the brain