Brain Games Season 2 Episode 12 Seeing is Believing

Brain Games is a highly engaging and addictive television show that delves into the mysteries of the human brain. Season 2 Episode 12, titled Seeing is Believing, is a fascinating exploration of how our minds can be easily deceived and manipulated by what we see.

The episode starts with an explanation of how our brain processes visual information and how it can sometimes be tricked into seeing things that are not really there. The host, Jason Silva, introduces us to various optical illusions and challenges us to see the truth behind them. One such illusion is the Ames room, which is a distorted room that makes two people of the same height appear vastly different in size. Jason explains how this illusion works and how it can be used to trick our brain into perceiving things that are not real.

The next segment of the show focuses on the power of suggestion and how it can influence what we see. The host demonstrates this by showing us a group of people looking at a picture of a tree with a hidden image within it. The hidden image is only visible if you know what to look for, but once the host hints at what it is, most people can suddenly see it. This segment highlights the concept of priming, which is the idea that our brains are influenced by external cues that we are not even aware of.

The show then explores the phenomenon of inattentional blindness, which is the idea that our brain can miss seeing something that is right in front of us if we are not paying attention to it. To demonstrate this, the host shows us a video of people playing basketball, and while we are busy counting the passes between the players, we miss seeing a person dressed in a gorilla suit walk through the scene. This segment shows us how our brain filters out information that it deems unimportant and focuses on what it considers relevant.

The episode then goes on to explore the concept of change blindness, which is the idea that our brain can miss significant changes in our environment if they happen gradually. To demonstrate this, the host shows us a time-lapse video of a street scene, where various changes take place over a period of time, such as a shop changing its sign or a car parking differently. Most viewers are completely unaware of these changes until they are pointed out, highlighting how our brain can be deceived by the power of gradual change.

The final segment of the show focuses on the science of visual perception and the idea that what we see is not always what we think we see. The host demonstrates this by showing us a series of optical illusions that create various visual distortions. One such illusion is the Müller-Lyer illusion, which makes two lines of the same length appear vastly different due to the placement of arrows on the tips of the lines. This segment shows us how our brain can be easily deceived by the placement of visual cues and how this can lead to misperceptions.

Overall, Brain Games Season 2 Episode 12, Seeing is Believing, is a fascinating exploration of how our minds can be fooled by what we see. The show's clever use of visual illusions and interactive experiments makes it highly engaging and entertaining, while at the same time teaching us valuable lessons about the power of perception. Watching this episode is a great way to gain a deeper understanding of how our minds work and to appreciate the complexity of the human brain.