patternicity--finding meaningful patterns in meaningless noise

[alocispepraluger102]

although this article is not specifically about music, it, nevertheless, may apply to several of us.

Such patternicities, then, mean that people believe weird things because of our evolved need to believe nonweird things.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=patter...&print=true

Edited November 29, 2008 by alocispepraluger102

[papsrus]

Interesting. I'd rephrase to say: "We believe in weird things because we have to in order to survive."

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Yes, interesting. Thanks Aloc.

MG

[Jazzmoose]

I think the writer has a serious case of missing the forest for the trees. This recognition of meaningful patterns is not just something that happens because one believes something. Surely I'm not the only one who hears voices in the fan and realizes that they aren't real voices. Or spots faces in meaningless, even random, design patterns on walls, carpets, etc. We don't have to believe that such things are real in order to hear them or see them. I would imagine that this ability of the brain to create images and sounds out of chaos is what gives us art.

[alocispepraluger102]

I think the writer has a serious case of missing the forest for the trees. This recognition of meaningful patterns is not just something that happens because one believes something. Surely I'm not the only one who hears voices in the fan and realizes that they aren't real voices. Or spots faces in meaningless, even random, design patterns on walls, carpets, etc. We don't have to believe that such things are real in order to hear them or see them. I would imagine that this ability of the brain to create images and sounds out of chaos is what gives us art.

thanks for that really excellent observation.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I don't think the writer was implying that we have to believe that these things we see (or hear) are really there, rather that we're not deconditioned by experience to dismiss them automatically. So we take notice of anything that looks like a pattern, in case it is. Most times, I guess, it is a pattern that we (might) want to know about for some reason, even if it's to take it for granted as being familiar as the next door neighbour's face.

MG

[A Lark Ascending]

I would imagine that this ability of the brain to create images and sounds out of chaos is what gives us art.

With most music, painting, literature etc it then requires the brain to disrupt those patterns and defy the expectations set up by them. If jazz is about anything its about the notes landing where you don't always expect them. There's a line in Humphrey Lyttleton's 'Best of Jazz' where he talks of Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith instinctively avoiding symmetry. I think you get that to varying degrees in most 'artforms' but I'd say it's one of the distinguishing qualities of jazz...and a reason why smooth jazz is so unsatisfying to the seasoned jazz listener.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I would imagine that this ability of the brain to create images and sounds out of chaos is what gives us art.

With most music, painting, literature etc it then requires the brain to disrupt those patterns and defy the expectations set up by them. If jazz is about anything its about the notes landing where you don't always expect them. There's a line in Humphrey Lyttleton's 'Best of Jazz' where he talks of Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith instinctively avoiding symmetry. I think you get that to varying degrees in most 'artforms' but I'd say it's one of the distinguishing qualities of jazz...and a reason why smooth jazz is so unsatisfying to the seasoned jazz listener.

It also gives us (a lot of) maths, but it's the opposite, I guess; things landing where you do expect them - or can predict them.

MG

[BruceH]

I think the writer has a serious case of missing the forest for the trees. This recognition of meaningful patterns is not just something that happens because one believes something. Surely I'm not the only one who hears voices in the fan and realizes that they aren't real voices. Or spots faces in meaningless, even random, design patterns on walls, carpets, etc. We don't have to believe that such things are real in order to hear them or see them. I would imagine that this ability of the brain to create images and sounds out of chaos is what gives us art.

This penchant to see faces stems from some strong face-recognition software that evolution equiped us with. It enables us to bend almost any random visual pattern into a "face."