Philosophy Wire: Seeing the… Unseen.

A new microscopy technique allows researchers to directly observe the process of nucleation, which leads to the formation of droplets and bubbles on surfaces. The advance may facilitate the design of improved, more efficient surfaces for a variety of industrial processes. [1] We are so much obsessed with inventing ways of seeing things that we do not see, that we forget the obvious: That we see things we do not see…

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Philosophy Wire: Looking inside…

Using properties of light from fluorescent probes is at the heart of a new imaging technique that allows for an unprecedented look inside cell membranes. [1] Looking inside. The main goal from the beginning of time. Looking inside. For the outside is obvious. Transparent. Nothing hidden under the Sun. Fool. Can’t you see? What is out there, is nothing else than what is inside. You are already looking at your precious prize. But you just cannot admit that you do. Because if you did, you should admit that there is no Sun illuminating anything. But only the pale silver Moon… Getting its light from you… With only one wish… To look inside you… But you were too preoccupied to allow it… Close your eyes to the light... Did you ever wonder… Why did you start seeing in the first place?

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Here is my secret... / Άκου το μυστικό μου...

«Άκου το μυστικό μου. Είναι πολύ απλό: Μόνο με την καρδιά βλέπεις καλά. Η ουσία δε φαίνεται με τα μάτια»… ~ Μικρός Πρίγκιπας

Here is my secret. It is very simple. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; What is essential is invisible to the eye... ~ Little Prince

[written on 1/8/2014]

Philosophy Wire: Genes. Vision. Prison.

People left blind by retinal degeneration have one option: electronic eye implants. Neuroscientists have now developed an alternative: gene therapy that, in tests, restored vision in blind mice. [1] Strange humans. We start by feeling everything. By being part of the cosmos. By knowing our self. But we need more. And then we grow up. We start seeing around. We start speaking. We start reading. And the magic is gone. We are trapped now. Outside our self. Away from the cosmos. Inside the cold void of existence, we feel everything. Feeling empty. Because the only way to have it all, is to seek nothing… Inside the cold void of existence, we feel everything. But nothing inside us… Look at those people who see it all… Did you ask them if they really want to?

* Read “An anthropologist on Mars”.

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Philosophy Wire: Illusions.

Multiple illusions can make our head hurt.

Rectangles turning into circles in the mirror. [1]
An arrow which will never turn the other way. [2]
An object which seems different even though it is the same. [3]
Obvious cracks in our beloved perfect picture of a perfectly ordered world.
Reminding us of the dirty little secret of existence.
There is nothing real to see.
Except of the things you do not…

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Philosophy Wire: Where do you see him?

Researchers show that category learning can be influenced by where an object is in our field of vision. [1] Shallow men. Believing in what they see. Parts of God, now slaves to their own eyes. Having forgotten that in the mirror of existence you cannot see anything but yourself. Unless you choose to put yourself constantly out of the picture. Look at that dirty beggar. At a dark small alley. He is not Christ. Do you see Him?

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Seeing without seeing... / Βλέποντας χωρίς να βλέπεις...

Βλέποντας με υπέρηχους. [1]

Για να δεις δεν χρειάζεσαι μάτια.
Ούτε αυτιά.
Ούτε μύτη.
Μπορείς να δεις μέσα σου.
Και θα δεις τον κόσμο ολόκληρο...

Seeing with ultrahigh frequency sound waves. [1]
You do not need eyes in order to see.
Nor ears.
Nor nose.
You can see inside you.
And you will see the whole world...

[written on 7/2014]

Philosophy Wire: Seeing while being blind…

Scientists have studied color vision by probing individual sensory cells in the human eye. The results confirm that the photoreceptor cells of the retina are especially sensitive to colors corresponding to their visual pigments, even when stimulated in isolation. A new observation is that proximity effects play a key role: sensitivity varied depending on which cell classes were located in the immediate neighborhood. [1] We analyze vision. Thinking of colors. But the cosmos was not always like that. The cosmos wass black. Void of any colours. No blue. No red. And then came Homer. And an ocean dark as wine came to be. And a sky bright as bronze manifested into existence. The fire of Troy was lit. And suddenly, due to an old blind man, we all started to see…

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Philosophy Wire: Not seeing. Seeing. [(Do not) be jealous of the blind people]

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2017-04-06]:

A baby in China was born without eyes. [1] We fear sorry for it. And yet it is just unfortunate. It will be the only one seeing in a world full of people with working vision. Check again. It is not sorrow that emotion you feel. It is jealousy.

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Philosophy Wire: Seeing farther: The (nonexistent) limitations of vision and their meaning.

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2016-12-24]: ESO's HAWK-I infrared instrument on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile has been used to peer deeper into the heart of Orion Nebula than ever before. [1] There are no limits as to how far and deep we can see. And this is why seeing is totally useless after all. See a nebula from far away. See closer. Get closer. And closer… What do you see? Everything is made up of… nothing. See the greatest picture. With the eyes of your soul. Only then will you understand.

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Philosophy Wire: I see. As we say “I analyze”…

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2016-01-04]:

Scientists examine the data of an X-ray burst from a black hole…

After careful scrutiny of the data, the astronomers realized they were seeing the ejection, and eventual collapse, of the black hole's corona.

"The corona gathered inward at first and then launched upwards like a jet," said Wilkins. "We still don't know how jets in black holes form, but it's an exciting possibility that this black hole's corona was beginning to form the base of a jet before it collapsed."

How could the researchers tell the corona moved? The corona gives off X-ray light that has a slightly different spectrum -- X-ray "colors" -- than the light coming from the disk around the black hole. By analyzing a spectrum of X-ray light from Mrk 335 across a range of wavelengths observed by both Swift and NuSTAR, the researchers could tell that the corona X-ray light had brightened -- and that this brightening was due to the motion of the corona. Coronas can move very fast. The corona associated with Mrk 335, according to the scientists, was traveling at about 20 percent the speed of light. When this happens, and the corona launches in our direction, its light is brightened in an effect called relativistic Doppler boosting.

Putting this all together, the results show that the X-ray flare from this black hole was caused by the ejected corona. [1]

“I see” 

We think it is so simple. So clear. And yet it is not.

“I see” 

As if saying “I analyze, I think, I document the possibilities, I decide, I deduce conclusions”…

There is no empirical data. Only thought. 

Do you see now?

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Philosophy Wire: New… Yes. And no.

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2015-10-09]: Scientists discovered a region in the brain which helps us recognize whether something is something we see for the first time [1]. But everything is new. The river is never the same. And yet you recognize it. The sound of its water is familiar. You are sitting next to it for a long time now…

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Philosophy Wire: Afantasia…

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2015-08-12]: The capacity for imagery, enabling us to visualise absent items and events, is a ubiquitous feature of our experience. A scientific paper which can be found here describes the case of a patient, MX, who abruptly lost the ability to generate visual images. He rated himself as experiencing almost no imagery on standard questionnaires, yet performed normally on standard tests of perception, visual imagery and visual memory. These unexpected findings were explored using functional MRI scanning (fMRI). Activation patterns while viewing famous faces were not significantly different between MX and controls, including expected activity in the fusiform gyrus. However, during attempted imagery, activation in MX's brain was significantly reduced in a network of posterior regions while activity in frontal regions was increased compared to controls. These findings were interpreted as suggesting that MX adopted a different cognitive strategy from controls when performing the imagery task.

A constantly changing brain. In a constantly changing world.
Never ending change to support a specific set of capabilities.
Plasticity of the brain. To support conscious perception.

Even a damaged brain can see after all. Because it is not the brain that sees.

We are part of the cosmos. We are the cosmos.
Destined to see. Even without being able to see…

Because nothing changes after all.

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Philosophy Wire: Vision. Beyond molecules…

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2015-02-01]: The molecular story of the evolution of human vision… [1] And still the important thing here are not the cells which react to light. But the mind which interprets this reaction. Look at the beautiful light. Are your cells the ones which see? Take off your eyes. Feel. Blind people see better...

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Philosophy Wire: Invisible. Visible. Opinion.

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2014-11-09]: Four lenses suffice to make an object disappear. [1] Look out there. What "is" there? What "should be" there? How do you "know"?

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Philosophy Wire: Let me see... errr, I mean eat you!

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2014-09-19]: Babies see the world through their mouths. Literally. Babies were able to recognize shapes they had not seen but they had... eaten them. [1] We have eyes everywhere. We only have to learn how to use them...

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Philosophy Wire: Eye contact...

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2014-09-03]: Dogs communicate with their gaze. [1] The most important things are said with silence… Do we need a dog to remind us of this fundamental knowledge? Don't talk!

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Philosophy Wire: See low to see high...

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2014-06-04]: A study shows that people pay more attention to upper half of field of vision. [1] We like to believe we can fly. We like to believe we belong to the stars. But the brightest star is within you. Look down and you will see up...

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Philosophy Wire: Taste, vision, interconnection...

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Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2013-07-15]: Taste and vision are interconnected. [1, 2] Why not the other senses as well? Everything is One... I smell it...

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Philosophy Wire: Light octopus, definitions, reality...

Help translate the Harmonia Philosophica book in 6 new languages and get valuable perks in return! Support the Indiegogo project now!

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2013-07-09]: An octopus made out of light. [1] It is not real of course. It is just an illusion. But wait a minute! Who defines the criteria for something to be named an illusion? What if our eyes caught the light in such a speed that we actually saw this octopus in front of us? But... we DO see this octopus! Simple things, great philosophy.

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