The paomnnehil pweor of the hmuan mnid

Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Amzanig huh?


Whew! That's really hard to type! The brain may be able to read it just fine, but when the brain sends impulses to my fingers to type it, spelling is automatic.

Here's another trick your brain plays on you:


Your brain automatically assumes that the light source is coming from above, throwing shadows below any protruding objects, and so at first glance you see this as a carving of a deer in among leaves and branches, on a white background.

But turn it over...

... and you see what it really is - light pieces of wood arranged artfully on a darker background. What was recessed is now protruding because your brain still sees the light source as coming from above (which in this case it really is).

In the chapel in Logan where my family went to church, there was a section of white brick walls above a strip of lights; There were some hourglass shaped bricks that stuck out a little bit from the rest of the wall, and since the light was shining from the bottom instead of the top, I used to make myself see those bricks recessed instead of protruding by telling my brain the light was coming from above. Easily amused, I know, but Sacrament Meeting went by more quickly. (Try seeing the wood both ways in just the top picture, and you get an idea of what I was doing with the bricks.)

One more thing... you know how when you bump your head the first impulse you have is to rub it? One of the things (one of the only things) I remember learning in a class on the human brain in college: Pain and pressure are carried to the brain on the same nerve channel. So when you apply pressure, the pain impulses physically can not get to the brain. Neat, huh? (This also works for smashed fingers.)