DESMA 9 Event 3 | Neuroscience + Art
I attended the Neuroscience + Art event by Mark Cohen on the 26th of May. This event was particularly interesting as it focused on the subtle role the brain plays in the activities that we assume are automatic, and take for granted.
Throughout the event, Mark explored various examples of how the brain is able to make connections and inferences, while explaining briefly the scientific basis. For instance, Mark explored how the mind is able to fill in the gaps when certain parts of a visual are hidden or missing. An example he showed us was an image that had three pac-man like structures that created a “triangle” in the area that they were missing. This shows how our brain is trained to pick up certain patterns and is able to find such patterns even when they may not seem immediately obvious. According to Neil deGrasse Tyson, pattern recognition determined natural selection as these skills assisted in humans’ survival ¹. This illustrates how deep rooted such characteristics are in humans.
Another idea that Mark touched upon was the electromagnetic spectrum. I recall learning about this for the first time in school and it fascinated me that our eyes (in coordination with the brain) are able to detect certain wavelengths of the spectrum to create the images that we see, while other parts of the spectrum, such as infrared rays, or UV rays, are invisible to us. Additionally, the different uses of the spectrum are also interesting to learn about, as the shorter wavelength waves, such as X-rays are dangerous to us and are used sparingly, while the longer wavelength waves such as radio waves are surrounding us at all times. While reading up more about this, I found an article by NASA that explored the different uses of this spectrum in the study of the universe. While our brain cannot directly interpret most of this spectrum, our brain has in a way created methods that allow us to interpret the entirety of the spectrum, and in the study of the universe, we use it to determine physical characteristics of objects, such as their temperature, velocity, and composition ². While this is done by telescopes, in a way we do the same with our eyes and brain everyday.
Mark also touched upon the fact that most of what we are capable of doing today is driven by perceptions that we picked up due to evolution. For instance, our natural reactions to things that cause pain are driven by perceptions that our brains have evolved to be able to produce in order to protect us. However, beyond our perceptions of tangible things, I feel like our perceptive reactions to intangible things are more interesting to study. This is also something that is explored through art. Art is meant to evoke thought and make people think differently than the norm. I explored a few examples of this in our Week 7 Blog, however “F*** tha Police” by NWA from 1988 is a great example of a song that demonstrated society’s varying perceptions of art. Some parts of society embraced the song as it highlighted issues that were rampant in the country, while other parts of society were horrified by the song, and it even led to the FBI being involved ³. This demonstrates how our perceptions of intangible ideas are driven by our environment, and also demonstrates how art (and its interpretation) is closely related to the perceptions that are set in our minds.
Sources:
Barkman, Robert C. “Why the Human Brain Is so Good at Detecting Patterns.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 19 May 2021, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/singular-perspective/202105/why-the-human-brain-is-so-good-detecting-patterns.
“The Electromagnetic Spectrum.” HubbleSite, NASA, 30 May 2019, https://hubblesite.org/contents/articles/the-electromagnetic-spectrum.
Grow, Kory. “How N.W.A's 'f*** Tha Police' Became the 'Perfect Protest Song'.” Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 10 June 2020, www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/nwa-fuck-tha-police-protest-song-1010355/.
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