Perception

1. Introduction to sense perception - how reliable are our senses?

• The central idea of this activity is that we use our senses in different ways, and place more weight on some (ie the visual sense) than others (ie the olfactory sense).
• The lesson requires four volunteers to be blindfolded at the beginning of the session, and given various objects to smell and identify. Their responses are then recorded in the chart provided on the handout.
• The same is then done with four more volunteers, this time testing their ability to identify objects from the sounds they make. After all the responses are written down, an estimation of human sensory ability is calculated.
• Follow-up activities could include going over the results of the activity and discussing why our senses are so poor when it comes to certain stimuli, and why we are more accurate with others.

2. Whodunnit - Test your awareness

• How many changes did you notice?
• Watch it again - can you see them now?

3. Beau Lotto on sense perception

• Lesson builds on the way in which we use our senses to question the knowledge we gain from them. You should have established the idea that we rely on our eye sight more than any other senses.
• This lesson will illustrate to you that our most used sense can also be the least reliable, and that we actually see what we want to see, and that sensory perception depends on the context in which it is used.
• The lesson uses Beau Lotto’s TED talk on visual illusions.
• You should respond to the questions on this sheet.
• http://neave.com/strobe/

4. Student presentations on aspects of perception

• We will use the following Prezi to talk through the different aspects of Perception as a way of knowing. I will talk through the introduction, but you need to deliver the rest in a small group. The sections are:

Perceptual illusions
Selectivity of perception
Seeing and believing
Distinguishing appearance from reality
Ultimate reality

• The Prezi is based on the Perception chapter in Theory of Knowledge by Richard van de Lagemaat
• There is a slide for each of the sections (2 for Ultimate reality) on the Prezi

5. Plato's, The Allegory of the Cave

• Watch the following animated adaptation of 'The Allegory of the Cave' and make some brief notes in your journal to summarize the story.

• What are the main points that Plato is trying to make in 'The Allegory of the Cave' relating top perception?
• You can read the full story if you want: The Allegory of the Cave

Resources.