Our Images and Us

Images have always played a pivotal role in our human lives. Our minds seem to constantly gather, analyze, modify, classify and deduce from images. Interestingly, all other forms of inputs that we accrue through the other senses as well, get translated into images before they are worked upon by the mind. Be it smell, taste, sound or touch … there always is a picture that we naturally associate with it. When I eat something that has a unique flavor, which I unconsciously label as an input worth recording for future reference, I either associate with that taste, images of the place where the food was consumed or … an image of the food itself as I dipped my fork/spoon into it. These images then form an encoding for the taste which can later be brought up for referrals, with little effort. So too it is with sound. I can't quite remember, ever listening to music without picturing something in my mind's eye. As I listen to a song, the music dictates the kind of imagery that is formed in my mind's screen, which then helps to encode this song in my mind. Needless to say, touch brings about far more powerful forms of imagery.

On the whole, any event, with all its different types of inputs; sights, sounds, tastes, smells and feelings are apparently encoded in the form of images. This is often the reason why when we try to recollect a music once heard or a sense of touch once felt, we always bring back with that recollection, the entire event or scene (inclusive of all other sense inputs). The most interesting part is when we begin to manipulate these images in our mind to form deductions. We often play around with these images, trying perpetually to discern patterns in them. And these patterns then go to make filters (our pre conceived notions, perceptions, etc) which affect how we accept and process and label future inputs. This process is best observed in growing children. In little toddlers, we see the sense of amazement or complete indiscriminate absorption of signals/inputs. However, when the same kid grows up, deducing and working with self discovered patterns, the kid begins to:

• Ignore some of the input.
• Label some of them with minimal analysis.
• Would be "startled" by an input when it goes against a formed pattern.

Humans in general, find it very hard to keep the influences of patterns at bay. Everything we ever do is in consonance with well defined patterns. This is apparent in our lifestyles, our civilizations, our wants … everything. The left brain classifies patterns, while the right deduces newer patterns. How we come to balance these two activities decides the kind of personality that we make of ourselves. More people tend towards being more left brained, in the sense that they predominantly choose to classify new input images based on previous classifications and deduced patterns; and look lesser for new patterns that may arise. There is a very thin line dividing our rationale in choosing to look for new patterns instead of going in for classification i.e. being so called open and receptive instead of being judgemental!

Gods be blamed! If you're wondering whats got into me, well it is this damn book that I am reading, turning me into a zyborg or something of that sort! I am trying to allow myself to generously dip into the pool of experiences that this book has in offering, while still trying to hold on to my sanity. Well … heck! Either way I am crazy J.