| THE "KANIZA" TRIANGLE EFFECT |
John Sterman:
"Most of us do not appreciate the ubiquity and invisibility of mental models, instead believing naively that
our senses reveal the world as it is. On the contrary, our world is actively constructed (modeled) by our
senses and brains.
The vast majority of us see a bright triangle resting on top of three circles and a second triangle with black
edges. The illusion is extremely powerful (try to look at the figure and "not see" the two triangles!)
Research shows that neural structures responsible for the ability to see illusionary contours such as white
triangle exist between the optic nerve and the area of the brain responsible for processing visual
information. Active modeling occurs well before sensory information reaches the areas of the brain
responsible for processing conscious thought.
Powerful evolutionary pressures are responsible: our survival depends so completely on the ability to
rapidly interpret our environment and we (and other species) long evolved structures to build these
models automatically.
Usually we are completely unaware these mental models even exist. It is only when a construction such as
the Kaniza triangle renders the illusion that we become aware of our mental models."
What is the implication of this?
"Most of us do not appreciate the ubiquity and invisibility of mental models, instead believing naively that
our senses reveal the world as it is. On the contrary, our world is actively constructed (modeled) by our
senses and brains.
The vast majority of us see a bright triangle resting on top of three circles and a second triangle with black
edges. The illusion is extremely powerful (try to look at the figure and "not see" the two triangles!)
Research shows that neural structures responsible for the ability to see illusionary contours such as white
triangle exist between the optic nerve and the area of the brain responsible for processing visual
information. Active modeling occurs well before sensory information reaches the areas of the brain
responsible for processing conscious thought.
Powerful evolutionary pressures are responsible: our survival depends so completely on the ability to
rapidly interpret our environment and we (and other species) long evolved structures to build these
models automatically.
Usually we are completely unaware these mental models even exist. It is only when a construction such as
the Kaniza triangle renders the illusion that we become aware of our mental models."
What is the implication of this?
- That we see things that are NOT there.
- That we do not see things that are there!