Menu

Proyecto Visión 21

Words you don’t hear, objects you don’t see

Francisco Miraval

A recent study published by a cognitive scientist and psychologist at the University of Wisconsin – Madison shows that language has a strong influence on the visual information we process. In other words, “Words can play a powerful role in what we see,” according to Dr. Gary Lupyan.

In an article published in the latest issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Lupyan explained that, “In the case of vision, what we consciously perceive seems to be deeply shaped by our knowledge and expectations.”
And, according to this scientist, our expectations “can be altered with a single word.” This mean that is you learn a new word or of you hear a word that you already knew at the proper time, then you can see things that otherwise you will not see. Or, as Lupyan said it, “Language can reveal the invisible.”

Of course, the Little Prince already knew it. That’s why he said that, “What is essential is invisible to the eye.” Without all the valuable scientific experiments performed by Lupyan, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry knew the eyes can’t see what the heart doesn’t hear.

In their experiments, Lupyan and his team projected images to the eyes of volunteers. The volunteers saw one image (a common object, such as a chair) on one eye, and flashes of light and lines (“visual noise”) on the other eye. The “noise” was so strong that the familiar object was not perceived. However, if the person heard the word represented the familiar object, then the object was seen, in spite of the “noise.”

According to Lupyan, “Studies like this are helping us show that language is a powerful tool for shaping perceptual systems.” In other words, what language doesn’t say, eyes can’t see.

The experiments demonstrated that language allows us to see the invisible, but the opposite is also true. If the “wrong” word (a word different from the one we expect) is said at the proper moment, that word interferes with our perception, preventing us from seeing what otherwise we will see.

According to Lupyan, the influence of language on visual perception begins at an early age. In fact, Lupyan’s research “demonstrates a deeper connection between language and simple sensory perception than previously thought,” adding that “The influence of language may extend to other senses as well.”

In his Tractatus, Wittgenstein already said that, “The limits of my language are the limits of my world.” I think Wittgenstein is saying (with my apologies to him) that whatever is not part of my language is also excluded from my world. And if I expand my language, I also expand my world.

That creative and destructive power of the word was well-known in ancient times. Such a belief is part of many traditions, including those about the creation of the world. In our time, however, creative (poetic) language seems to have been replaced by superficial, calculating words. But, as Wittgenstein said, “What we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence.”

Go Back

Comment

Blog Search

Blog Archive

Comments

There are currently no blog comments.