Call for Thought Experimens

ISALTA Call for Papers
The Limits and Structure of Imagination: Visual Thought Experiments This is a call for papers consisting of brief thought experiments that reveal something about the limits, and perhaps the structure, of visual imagination. Imagination is thought to be limitless. Artists can think melting clocks, and physicists can think infinity, so are there limitations? Here are two examples: Color Ecker, David W. Visualize a sunny day at the beach in full color with wispy clouds, children playing and people swimming. A solid color beach ball rolls into your sight and stops at your feet. It is blue. Hold that image for a moment. Now, change the image you have of that ball to red. It is the same clear, bright sunny day, but the ball is now red. See it clearly in your mind as a red beach ball. Change it back to blue again. Now, imagine that same ball as red and blue at the same time. Not alternating, patterned, blended or optically mixed, but simultaneously two different solid colors. Try again. There is a limit to the visual imagination of color. Unity Palmer, Carleton D. Visualize one short stick, perhaps a yellow pencil if that image is in your visual vocabulary, and place it vertically in the center of your field of vision. Hold it there for a moment excluding all other images. Visualize an identical stick next to the first. Not a pair of sticks, but two identical, individual, independent and separate sticks. Hold both sticks in your imagination for a moment to insure that they are stable and completely independent. Add a third stick following the same rules. Do not visualize a trio of sticks, or a pair and a single stick, but three identical, individual, independent and separate sticks. Hold all three sticks in your imagination to insure that they are stable and completely independent. Add sticks until it becomes impossible to imagine each of them independently, and they insist on grouping. There is a limit to the visual imagination of unity. Please send your anecdote to isalta@optonline.net for possible inclusion on the website http://www.isalta.com -DrP

ISALTA Call for Papers

The Limits and Structure of Imagination: Visual Thought Experiments

This is a call for papers consisting of brief thought experiments that reveal something about the limits, and perhaps the structure, of visual imagination.

Imagination is thought to be limitless. Artists can think melting clocks, and physicists can think infinity, so are there limitations?

Here are two examples:

Color

Ecker, David W.

Visualize a sunny day at the beach in full color with wispy clouds, children playing and people swimming. A solid color beach ball rolls into your sight and stops at your feet. It is blue. Hold that image for a moment.

Now, change the image you have of that ball to red. It is the same clear, bright sunny day, but the ball is now red. See it clearly in your mind as a red beach ball.

Change it back to blue again.

Now, imagine that same ball as red and blue at the same time. Not alternating, patterned, blended or optically mixed, but simultaneously two different solid colors. Try again.

There is a limit to the visual imagination of color.

Unity

Palmer, Carleton D.

Visualize one short stick, perhaps a yellow pencil if that image is in your visual vocabulary, and place it vertically in the center of your field of vision. Hold it there for a moment excluding all other images.

Visualize an identical stick next to the first. Not a pair of sticks, but two identical, individual, independent and separate sticks. Hold both sticks in your imagination for a moment to insure that they are stable and completely independent.

Add a third stick following the same rules. Do not visualize a trio of sticks, or a pair and a single stick, but three identical, individual, independent and separate sticks. Hold all three sticks in your imagination to insure that they are stable and completely independent.

Add sticks until it becomes impossible to imagine each of them independently, and they insist on grouping.

There is a limit to the visual imagination of unity.

Please send your anecdote to isalta@optonline.net for possible inclusion on the website http://www.isalta.com

-DrP