Section 5.1. Hacks 53-61

5.1. Hacks 53-61

This chapter looks at how we integrate our perceptionsimages ( Chapter 2), sounds (Chapter 4), our own mechanisms of attention (Chapter 3), and our other senses [Hack #12] into a unified perceptual experience.

For instance, how do we use our eyes and ears together? (We prefer to use our ears for timing and eyes for determining location [Hack #53] .) And what are the benefits of doing so? (We feel experiences that happen in two senses simultaneously as more intense [Hack #57] and [Hack #58].)

Sometimes, we overintegrate. The Stroop Effect [Hack #55], a classic experiment, shows that if we try to respond linguistically, irrelevant linguistic input interferes. In its eagerness to assimilate as much associated information, as much context, as possible, the brain makes it very hard to ignore even what we consciously know is unimportant.

We'll also look at one side effect and one curious limitation of the way we integrate sense information. The first goes to show that even the brain's errors can be useful and that we can actually use a mistaken conclusion about a sound's origin to better listen to it [Hack #60] . The second answers the question: do we really need language to perform what should be a basic task, of making a simple deduction from color and geometry? In some cases, it would appear so [Hack #61] .