Watch the following video before you start reading chapter five and before reading any comments that have been posted below.
After you've seen the video, describe what you've seen in the comment box. Why do you think the designers of this video might have wanted to show when they made it?
After you've read the section in chapter five that comments on the Heider-Simmel demonstration, come back and comment about your experience of it.
And if you'd like to see a short (4-minute) video in which Jonathan Gottschall discusses the significance of the video during an appearance on a panel before a live audience, click here.
Is this a post modern art mobile? Perhaps the artists depictan idea being trapped (or boxed) in some situation and eventually finding a way out. Perhaps another similar but smaller idea began to question the first. A different idea (the ball) tried to enter, but was temporarily trapped, or held off, before it was accepted in the thought process. The two similar ideas began to spar for top cnsideration and the ball idea tried to escape by returning to the original box. (To provide inspiration?) but the first idea came back, perhaps to aid the ball idea, or to annoy it. Then as the two ideas broke out of the box, all three interacted by chasing each other. Finally the original idea destroyed the box, probably to incorporate all the ideas in a new paradigm. Some details have not been included but this is essentially what I saw.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to read the author's own comments on the film, and especially to read the various but similar responses of 111 of the 114 research subjects. I should think the movement of the shapes would automatically trigger a story of some sort, and even different or conflicting stories in any one person's mind. This comes before the author describes the experiment that recognized the brain's two separate hemispheres, and their specific functions, but the 3 out of 114, makes one suspect that the three had a defect that would not let the two sides communicate or work together properly., At least that seems to be the thesis of the Author, who then refers Kuleshov's exercise that "shows how unwilling we are to be without a story--" (p.108)
ReplyDeleteI saw a father (big triangle) meeting his daughter's (circle) new boyfriend (little triangle) and Daddy was clearly not happy about it at all. At first, he was in their house minding his own business, but then he saw his daughter outside kissing some boy. Immediately, the father barged out of the house and confronted his daughter's boyfriend. The boy pleaded his case, but the father literally shook his head in disapproval. The daughter is upset, and so she sulks off to the house while her father and boyfriend argue. When the girl's father goes inside the house, he is met by a daughter that wants nothing to do with him. She runs past him and out the door to be reunited with her boyfriend. They share a quick kiss before her father barrels through the door after her. The happy couple elopes, while the father destroys his home in anger.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why, but I saw a lot of violence in this video. I saw a man (large triangle) waiting for his wife (circle) to come home. He had gotten home early from a business trip and was going to surprise his wife. However, when he does see his wife, he also sees her sees her walking... with another man. The husband storms out in a rage and confronts the other man. This man explains to the husband that they have been having an affair and that it is true love. Then comes some violence. The husband proceeds to "beat up" the smaller triangle, while the wife runs and hides behind the door to the house. After he is sure that the small triangle is no longer a problem, the large triangle goes into the house to confront his wife who is obviously afraid of getting beaten. She manages to dodge her husband and escapes through the door where she is reunited with her true love. The husband tries to catch them but fails. He is so lost in rage and loss that he begins to break things in the house that was once theirs.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the video, I felt very strong emotions. I felt sorry for the large triangle, but I was also very scared for the others, the circle most of all. I have read some other people's comments and it seems as though the video barely affected them emotionally. This video really hit a nerve with me and I am not sure why. I have certainly never gone through anything like I saw in this video. It is amazing how a simple video (that does not even have sound) could make me feel so much fear for its characters.
I've known numerous people that believe in conspiracy theories, such as the ones listed in TIME magazine article.
ReplyDeleteAs for what it takes for someone to be drawn to conspiracy theories, I think education level is a big factor as well as the general sexy-ness brought with them. Maybe it is not so much education, or a lack thereof, rather pure ignorance that is the problem. For a number of the popular conspiracy theories – the reptilian race, faked moon landing, chem trails – it is a simple case of ignoring facts and evidence.
People deny evidence because they either lack the proper skills to evaluate evidence or because they are emotionally tied to a way of thinking; that's the sexy-ness coming in. Not only do a shockingly large number of people lack the proper knowledge to discern fact from fiction, they also prefer a juicy story to the often mundane truth. We're drawn to sexy, drama filled stories.