Zygmunt Pizlo, Yunfeng Li, Tadamasa Sawada, and Robert M. Steinman
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- August 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199922543
- eISBN:
- 9780190228385
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199922543.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Vision
This book explains why and how our visual perceptions are veridical; how they can provide us with an accurate representation of the world “out there.” It explains how this computationally difficult ...
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This book explains why and how our visual perceptions are veridical; how they can provide us with an accurate representation of the world “out there.” It explains how this computationally difficult problem was solved by describing how the authors built a machine (a computational model) that sees very much as we do. This has never been done before and nothing remotely like it is available anywhere else. Doing it required a “paradigm shift,” an entirely new way of thinking about visual perception, one that is quite unlike any that has been considered up to now. The book, despite its scientific sophistication, is accessible to a very wide audience because each issue covered in the text is discussed twice, once for the “intuitive” reader and once for the “technical” reader. No equations are included in this book, but technical readers can find them in the authors’ published papers. The book, which contains many helpful demos, tells the story of how the machine was developed and what drove the ideas needed to make it work. This makes it an interesting, even gripping, read. The machine, explained clearly in this book, could have enormous practical and scientific, as well as social/artistic consequences. This book combines a new computational theory of shape perception with an account of the history of the theory's discovery. It tells this story together with all relevant background information including criticisms of it and of opposing theories. This mixture is an unusual way to present a major scientific achievement, but it not only works, it also makes for an exciting read.Less
This book explains why and how our visual perceptions are veridical; how they can provide us with an accurate representation of the world “out there.” It explains how this computationally difficult problem was solved by describing how the authors built a machine (a computational model) that sees very much as we do. This has never been done before and nothing remotely like it is available anywhere else. Doing it required a “paradigm shift,” an entirely new way of thinking about visual perception, one that is quite unlike any that has been considered up to now. The book, despite its scientific sophistication, is accessible to a very wide audience because each issue covered in the text is discussed twice, once for the “intuitive” reader and once for the “technical” reader. No equations are included in this book, but technical readers can find them in the authors’ published papers. The book, which contains many helpful demos, tells the story of how the machine was developed and what drove the ideas needed to make it work. This makes it an interesting, even gripping, read. The machine, explained clearly in this book, could have enormous practical and scientific, as well as social/artistic consequences. This book combines a new computational theory of shape perception with an account of the history of the theory's discovery. It tells this story together with all relevant background information including criticisms of it and of opposing theories. This mixture is an unusual way to present a major scientific achievement, but it not only works, it also makes for an exciting read.
