Steven Pinker -- How the Mind Works - Hampshire High Italian ...

272 J HOW THE MIND WORKSIf we wrap an object in some kind of envelope, so that the eyes inferrather than see the object that is enclosed, the inferred or imagined formis likely to be more perfect than it would appear if it were uncovered.Thus a square box covered with brown paper will be imagined as a perfectsquare. Unless the mind is given some very strong clue it is unlikelyto visualize holes, dents, cracks, or other accidental qualities. In the sameway, if we cast a drapery over a thigh, a leg, an arm or a breast, the imaginationsupposes a perfectly formed member; it does not and usually cannotenvisage the irregularities and the imperfections which experienceshould lead us to expect.. . . We know what [a body] is probably like from experience, andyet we are willing to suspend our disbelief in favour of the fictions of [theperson's] wardrobe. Indeed I think that we are ready to go further in theway of self-deception. When we slip on our best jacket and see ourdeplorably unimpressive shoulders artfully magnified and idealised wedo, for a moment, rise in our own esteem.Geons are not good for everything. Many natural objects, such asmountains and trees, have complicated fractal shapes, but geons turnthem into pyramids and lollipops. And though geons can be built into apassable generic human face, like a snowman or Mr. Potato Head, it isalmost impossible to build a model of a particular face—John's face,your grandmother's face—that is different enough from other faces notto confuse them, but stable enough across smiles, frowns, weightgains, and aging to identify that person every time. Many psychologistsbelieve that face recognition is special. In a social species like ours,faces are so important that natural selection gave us a processor thatregisters the kinds of geometric contours and ratios needed to tell themapart. Babies lock onto facelike patterns, but not onto other complexand symmetrical arrangements, when they are only thirty minutes old,and quickly learn to recognize their mothers, perhaps as early as thesecond day of life.Face recognition may even use distinct parts of the brain. An inabilityto recognize faces is called prosopagnosia. It is not the same as OliverSacks' famous man who mistook his wife for a hat: prosopagnosics cantell a face from a hat; they just can't tell whose face it is. But many ofthem can recognize hats and almost everything else. For example, thepatient "LH" was tested by the psychologists Nancy Etcoff and KyleCave and the neurologist Roy Freeman. LH is an intelligent, knowledgeableman who suffered head injuries in a car accident twenty years