Two-track Mind
A metaphor is the use of something familiar to understand something less familiar. For instance, if a news report says "unemployment went down this month," the familiar feeling of "going down" helps everyone to understand that the number of people looking for work has reduced.
Metaphors are more common than many people think. If you look up the origin of almost any word in the dictionary, you will find a metaphor if you go back far enough. Some psychologists suggest that all of our thinking comes from metaphors, based on how our senses allow us to perceive everyday experiences.
In this activity, you will use what you have learned about perception and the embodied mind to make discoveries about how you think. Please answer in complete sentences.
Part 1
1. Which of your everyday physical experiences tell you that this hand isn’t actually holding a cloud? How did you learn that clouds are too far away to touch? (5 points)
I know the hand is not holding the cloud in the image because in reality you cannot hold a cloud in your hand. I learned that clouds are too far away to hold by reaching my hands out to the sky and not being able to touch the sky.
2. What is the principle of perception that supports the idea that your brain expects that the puff of white between the fingers is a cloud; that is much farther away than the hand? (5 points)
The principle perception that supports the idea in my brain is figure and ground.
3. Imagine that you are in the scene shown here. You are on a beach, looking out. In the two-track mind model, what are two examples of what the brain is doing on the unconscious level, and what are two examples of what the brain is doing on the conscious level? (10 points)
My conscious level lets me feel the wind on the beach and it lets me feel the sand go in between my toes as I walk on the beach. My unconscious level lets me walk on the beach without me thinking of having to walk and it lets me hear the sound of the waves
Metaphors are more common than many people think. If you look up the origin of almost any word in the dictionary, you will find a metaphor if you go back far enough. Some psychologists suggest that all of our thinking comes from metaphors, based on how our senses allow us to perceive everyday experiences.
In this activity, you will use what you have learned about perception and the embodied mind to make discoveries about how you think. Please answer in complete sentences.
Part 1
1. Which of your everyday physical experiences tell you that this hand isn’t actually holding a cloud? How did you learn that clouds are too far away to touch? (5 points)
I know the hand is not holding the cloud in the image because in reality you cannot hold a cloud in your hand. I learned that clouds are too far away to hold by reaching my hands out to the sky and not being able to touch the sky.
2. What is the principle of perception that supports the idea that your brain expects that the puff of white between the fingers is a cloud; that is much farther away than the hand? (5 points)
The principle perception that supports the idea in my brain is figure and ground.
3. Imagine that you are in the scene shown here. You are on a beach, looking out. In the two-track mind model, what are two examples of what the brain is doing on the unconscious level, and what are two examples of what the brain is doing on the conscious level? (10 points)
My conscious level lets me feel the wind on the beach and it lets me feel the sand go in between my toes as I walk on the beach. My unconscious level lets me walk on the beach without me thinking of having to walk and it lets me hear the sound of the waves