PERCEPTION: THE BUSINESS OF CREATING MEANING

If you want to have your mind blown by questioning whether there is a connection between perception and reality, you can watch this video (However, if you don't want to consider such a dark view, that's fine).

Two interesting implications of the Gestalt principle that are not limited to perception

1. This principle puts them in direct conflict with the early psychologists--the structuralists--who thought the perception (and the mind itself) was the sum of its parts. The structuralists' goal was to break the mind down into its basic elements.

2. This Gestalt principle gives us some insights into creativity: Creativity often involves combining old ideas together in new ways. For example, wheels had been around for thousands of years and suitcases had been around for hundreds of years, but it wasn't until relatively recently that someone came up with the idea to put wheels on suitcases. To see for yourself how creativity can simply be the product of combining old ideas together in new combinations, generate an idea for a new type of credit card by

   choosing from each of the four characteristics below (this is a minor modification of  an exercise devised by Dr. Anthony Grasha).

   Shape Pick a shape Rectangle Square Circle Triangle Cube Sphere Pyramid

   Method of Identification Choose an ID method Raised numbers Photo Voice print Fingerprint Eye scan

   Color Choose a color Multi-colored White Blue Red Green Clear Gold

   Material Pick a material Plastic Cardboard Wood Glass Metal Paper Brick Clay

Illusions demonstrate the Gestalt principle that "the whole is different from the sum of the parts" (i.e., that our mind doesn't reproduce reality but instead creates "reality")

1. Fun examples of illusions
• The Necker Cube illusion
• Illusion Works
• Many more fun illusions from Illusions.org
2. The illusion that launched Gestalt Psychology: The phi-phenomenon

Gestalt Psychologists Show Us How We Naturally Organize Our Sensations

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