Sunday, April 29, 2012

We are not monsters, we're moral people

The Flashed Face Distortion effect:

At the Exp. Psych. Conference in Sydney there was a talk on this effect from a chap at Thompson's lab, where they've been testing which conditions give the strongest results.

The deviations from the norm that define each face become wildly exaggerated when seen in peripheral vision and in immediate succession to faces that deviate in other ways, so that (for instance) a higher-than-average forehead becomes a vast projection screen that only Substance McGravitas would find enticing, and so on. The sequential contrast of shape and colouring brings out the Innsmouth Look in otherwise-unexceptional faces or turns them into Mannerist grotesques... evidently sequential contrast phenomena work more strongly in peripheral vision. This all has to do with norm-based facial coding, which featured heavily at the conference, though no-one ever explained why they singled out Norm.

Only a very bad person would consider taking various US Republican-party primary candidates and compiling their photographs into a GIF, flashing at a rate of 2 to 5 per second, to be seen 6.5° away from the visual fixation point.

11 comments:

Dr.KennethNoisewater said...

Only a very bad person would consider taking various US Republican-party primary candidates and compiling their photographs into a GIF

Then somebody nice should do it!

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

"Doughy Pantload", he suggested.
~

tigris said...

I say this person is very bad for only considering it and not doing it. Then I shake the Shaming Finger. Yes, it was behind the couch just as you suggested.

Dr.KennethNoisewater said...

Does the shaming finger vibrate? AFAF

mikey said...

...to be seen 6.5° away from the visual fixation point.

Hmmm - I fear this will only work for those with dual monitors, as this would position the image off-screen...

Substance McGravitas said...

DEGREES mikey. You can adjust the proportional distance by having a giant robot claw grab your head and move it back and forth until the infrared positing sensor finally picks up the right spot.

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

Giant Robot Claw / Ted Williams' Frozen Head 2012!
~

mikey said...

Well, sure, but as you know I don't have one - just a recalcitrant, fairly neatly dressed monkey butler...

Big Bad Bald Bastard said...

Needs moar elixirs...

Sweet, sweet juice of the dying... uhhh....

Dr.KennethNoisewater said...


It does if it's the Bishop's finger.


Bishops finger fun indeed.

Vonnie said...

This was CRAZY