Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Why We See Faces - Everywhere

Posted by timothy on from the and-doodle-them-too dept.

Berek Half Hand writes "Phil Plait over at Bad Astronomy has a great personal story of a paranormal visitation to his shower. His report explains a lot about human nature and how our brains our wired. Those of you who may be Kate Campbell fans will also immediately think of 'Jesus and Tomatoes' and the famous Nun Bun."

2 of 60 comments (clear)

  1. A Priori Knowledge by dnahelix · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Some consider the ability to recognize faces in humans as a priori knowledge, that is, knowledge without any prior experience. Apparently, our genes hardwire our brains to know what a face is, even before we ever experience one. I think that is so fascinating. Could it be possible to genetically engineer a human to be born with more knowledge?

    --
    Slashdot Eds Link Anonymous Posts With Logged Posts
    They Are Vermin Feeding On Each Other's Feces.
    I Hate \.
    1. Re:A Priori Knowledge by valdis · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Actually, the problem with being born with more instinctual knowledge is that it makes you *less* flexible. Humans take an amazingly long time to become self-sufficient because we have to learn everything, whereas most other creatures are born already knowing how to do most everything they need to know how to do.

      The trade-off is that although a dog or cat is born with a lot more wired-in knowledge, it's severely restricted in what it can learn after that. Ponder the fact that literate humans are a lot more common than literate dogs or cats.....