What is seeing? We often find ourselves being unable to answer this question because of the very fact that we can see.
Colin Ware in Information Visualization says that seeing is a means of pattern recognition. We extract outlines (distinction lines) and apply our knowledge. But, how do we make such distinctions, and how do we know what lines to draw on which objects?
Peter Wyeth in The Matter of Vision explains that our vision -through our nonconscious (“automatic” in his book)- is capable of processing 10 million bits per second (bps) of data, as opposed to maximum of 45 bps of semiotic data by the conscious, and that the nonconscious makes the distinctions based on the likelihood of survival. We “nonconsciously” choose to see what would help us to survive. Of course, we rarely encounter a life-or-death situation, but on the flip side, we often find ourselves needing to create self-images to prove our worth in our society. What makes a person choose Apple over Dell computer is often the “aesthetic preference,” programmed in our nonconscious for the purpose of self-esteem. This is the mechanism of how we decide what shapes/forms in architecture are more valuable than others.>>
