Thursday, December 02, 2010

Today's interesting fact has to do with Culture and how it affects those who live within them.

Culture affects much more than many people think. The way we perceive colour is determined by culture. The way we express emotions on our faces is determined by culture. The way we react to issues is determined by culture. There are apparently only two facial expressions that are innate, that everyone expresses. All the others are learnt by the culture we grow up in.

The way we perceive images is also affected. There is an interesting picture of two lines, with lines forming arrows at the ends. the two lines are both the same length, but depending on the culture we grow up in, determines if we see the one line larger than the other. Those raised in western cultures, will think one line up to 22% longer than the other. The San, African bushmen, shown the same image, correctly identify them as being exactly the same length, as do Australian Aborigines.

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