This is one of the best examples of a process called "mental chunking" in which we cognitively handle the complexity of the world (and improve our processing horsepower) by not focusing on the individual elements of things (e.g., the letters of a word, the pieces that make up a face like a nose, eyes, mouth) and we simply "see" the whole and recognize it on that level. Think about how quickly we can recognize faces: if we have to notice each individual part and then combine it into a whole, we'd be lost. Some people have this problem (its a very rare condition in which people can't recognize faces, they can only see disconnected parts but can't put them all together) and it totally fucks up their lives.
"Gestalt Theory" arose in the early part of the 20th century to explain such effects and the theory still has a large impact on how we think about from graphic design to cognition.
Sorry I'm responding late, guapo. This comment got shuffled around my inbox.
So, I had to look up mental chunking. Of course, it's 1:30 in the morning and way too late to stay up and do this... but I'm the kinda guy that jumps out of bed at 4am to research things on the net. Yeah, I know that's not normal :)
LOL, so, rather than deal with that later, I'm reading now. It's pretty fascinating. And the fact that some people are incapable of "chunking"... I wonder how that looks? What causes it? Do they know they have the problem? Gah, my brain's working. Gonna try to find more net resources on cognitive psychology and read up... but not tonight, hehe.
My best friend's bro is finishing up his Psych major... Good topic for my next long chat with him...
Comments 5
Reply
Reply
Reply
"Gestalt Theory" arose in the early part of the 20th century to explain such effects and the theory still has a large impact on how we think about from graphic design to cognition.
Reply
So, I had to look up mental chunking. Of course, it's 1:30 in the morning and way too late to stay up and do this... but I'm the kinda guy that jumps out of bed at 4am to research things on the net. Yeah, I know that's not normal :)
LOL, so, rather than deal with that later, I'm reading now. It's pretty fascinating. And the fact that some people are incapable of "chunking"... I wonder how that looks? What causes it? Do they know they have the problem? Gah, my brain's working. Gonna try to find more net resources on cognitive psychology and read up... but not tonight, hehe.
My best friend's bro is finishing up his Psych major... Good topic for my next long chat with him...
Hope you're doing well :)
Reply
Leave a comment