The picture of the old woman, whose name is Cracklebones, with the huge hooked nose and cruel thin lips, and wearing a dirty-white headscarf, reminds us of a witch ; it also reminds us of our tendency to make judgements of people ; judgements that are often based on little evidence. Is this prejudice? Well, it might be and it might not ; it depends on what we conventionally regard as valid evidence.
The nature of evidence is itself interesting. People often assume that it consists of objects. For example, if young Matilda is found dead in the forest very near the witch’s haunted house, we are apt to think that she has been murdered. And, since Matilda shows no sign of injury, we are inclined to think she has been either poisoned or killed by a dastardly spell.
And if we then find the wicked witch sitting nearby, stirring a pot that smells of hemlock, stroking her sinister black cat and cackling to herself, we are inclined to think that it was she who committed the murder. The witch murdered the young lady, Matilda. Was it jealousy that made her do it?
But, actually, all these physical signs – the body, the old woman, the hemlock, the cat, the cackles, and the gloomy cottage in the woods – do not amount to anything at all. They are just things.
It is only when we think about those things that they become evidence. We have to think about the things and then link them, one to another, in a chain of reasoning. Evidence is derived from reason and from consciousness, and not merely from things.
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So much for the evidence, but what about young Matilda? She is quite a beauty. In the picture below, she is looking away from us, so that we see her rather delicate jaw-line and a narrow, elegant neckband ; she is wearing soft fur stole of the best quality. She wears a feather above her brow. She appears to be rather a shy young lady of refined manners.
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In my experience, most people are able to make the switch in perception, so that they can see either the witch or the young lady. But I know no-one who can see both at the same time. We tend to see either one or the other. On reflection, it is quite remarkable that the same identical picture can give rise to two contrary perceptions.
It reminds us that the picture ‘out there’, outside of our brains and bodies, is not what we actually perceive. What we perceive is what our minds make of the picture. From the same ink marks on the paper, we can make two very different cognitive models.
Also it reminds us that making a mental image of what we see is not just a question of processing sensory data ; it is a question of thinking about that data and about previously-learned data as well. Though that thinking is normally done so rapidly that we are usually not aware of it.
Jamie
Humans are by nature judgmental about others because it hides one’s own judgment of self. I think another reason is that it is so much easier to judge others because the finger of guilt can be pointed at the other one. One is by nature scared that pointing the finger at self will mean one must then punish self, and if punishment were set at an obligatory death sentence there will be millions more dead people.
Each one knows the truth about self and his failures; so we rather judge the other guy and hope he gets the death penalty.
And very few people are capable or willing to point the finger at self. It’s not even fun.
Morning, Ike,
Very true. But I think also that people don’t like blaming themselves because they would then have to make changes in their lives to avoid future misdemeanours. We’re basically lazy!
“Judge not, lest you be judged yourselves” [by yourself].
The Master’s own words, filled with mystical wisdom.
Hello Brother Burrito, and welcome.
Yes and while that motto is easy enough to learn and understand, it is quite hard to keep at the front of my mind. I suppose we were given a sense of humour to help us cope with these things.
Very perceptive. I guess most of the times we see what we want to see. Most of the time first impressions dictate how we look at other people hence forth & its a pity that we are often wrong & sometimes miss great opportunities to build great relationships.
Good morning, Ericchi,
Yes, we do see what we are predisposed to see ; we even see some things as others wish us to see them. And all the while, we think we are seeing what is really there! The consequences of our ways of seeing can be most interesting ; and sometimes a bit worrying.
I wonder which people in history are especially either loved or hated, according to how they were introduced to us?
Jamie, I think seeing is one thing, like the picture of the Young/old woman. Even though I had seen it before, I still saw the old woman first.
Here is the link to my post for tomorrow at 11:00 AM. http://my.telegraph.co.uk/cheechdog/cheech/15952076/mind-game/
It will make you wonder about our thought process.
Morning, Cheech. It’s funny that you see the old witch first ; I do, too ; and so do most people, I think, if they aren’t talked out of it before they have the chance. And, in all the textbooks I have seen with this puzzle in it, it’s the old witch who gets the first mention. Hmm….
Maybe we have a racial preference for old ladies? 🙂
But it does raise the question : how many other things in this world could we see in more ways than one, if only we used a little bit of alternative thinking?
Jamie, I’ll try this again. Even though I had seen this years ago, I still see the old woman firsat and have to look for the young woman. I have no idea why.
I have a brain teaser coming up today that involves not sight but thought.
Here it is.:
MIND GAME
* Just follow these instructions, and answer the questions one at a time and as quickly as you can!
2% or 98%
This is strange…can you figure it out?
Are you the 2% or 98% of the population?
Follow the instructions! NO PEEKING AHEAD!
* Do the following exercise, guaranteed to raise an eyebrow.
* There’s no trick or surprise.
* Again, as quickly as you can but don’t advance until you’ve done each of them …… really.
* Now, scroll down (but not too fast, you might miss something).
Think of a number from 1 to 10
Multiply that number by 9
If the number is a 2-digit number, add the digits together
Now subtract 5
Determine which letter in the alphabet corresponds to the number you ended up with
(example: 1=a, 2=B, 3=c,etc.)
Think of a country that starts with that letter
Remember the last letter of the name of that country
Think of the name of an animal that starts with that letter
Remember the last letter in the name of that animal
Think of the name of a fruit that starts with that letter.
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Are you thinking of a Kangaroo in Denmark eating an Orange ?
If not, you’re among the 2% of the population whose minds are different enough to think of something else. 98% of people will answer with kangaroos in Denmark when given this exercise..