SGER: Assessment of the Representation of Shape in Individuals from a Culture with Minimal Regular Simple Artifacts

在不到一秒钟的时间里--只需一瞥--我们就理解了以前从未见过的复杂场景。这种非凡能力的基础是什么？一个著名的形状识别理论认为，物体在记忆中是以简单、规则、2D和3D几何形状的排列形式存在的，如砖、圆锥体、圆柱体、楔形、圆形和正方形。看到一个新奇的场景就是接触这些记忆中预先准备好的基本形状，称为几何图形。这种非凡的能力是如何产生的？根据一种假设，早期对自然延伸轮廓的丰富经验就足够了。另一种假设是，地球起源于我们早期沉浸在人造世界几何学中的经验。来自一个对人造世界文物只有极少接触的文化中的个人会表现出与沉浸在文物中的大学生相同的感知吗？相反，它们在区分高度不规则的形状(如灌木丛、云彩或山脊)时会有更高的敏感度吗？比德曼博士和医学硕士玛丽莎·尼德豪勒将在一项关于印度人形状歧视的调查中回答后一个问题。Himba人是纳米比亚北部的一个半游牧部落，几乎不接触西方手工艺品，语言中不包含任何简单形状的术语(如某些几何图形的术语)。内德豪斯将加入一个研究肤色和语言歧视的英国团队。这项研究有一些迫切性，因为纳米比亚政府很快将把旅游业扩大到这个偏远地区，随之而来的是对人造世界文物的接触增加。这项研究的更广泛的影响包括更好地理解基本心理能力中的自然多样性。

In a fraction of a second-in a single glance-we comprehend complex scenes never encountered previously. What is the basis of this extraordinary capacity? A prominent theory of shape recognition holds that objects exist in memory as an arrangement of simple, regular, 2D and 3D geometrical shapes, such as bricks, cones, cylinders, wedges, circles, and squares. To see a novel scene is to make contact with these pre-prepared elementary shapes in memory, called geons. How does this extraordinary capacity arise? By one hypothesis, a rich early experience with natural extended contours would be sufficient. An alternative hypothesis is that geons derives from our early experience immersed in the geometry of a manufactured world. Would individuals from a culture with only minimal exposure to manufactured-world artifacts show the same kinds of perception as artifact-immersed college students? Would they, instead, have greater sensitivity for distinguishing among highly irregular shapes, such as bushes, clouds, or mountain ridges? Dr. Biederman and Marissa Nederhouser, M.A., will answer the latter questions in an investigation of shape discrimination by the Himba. The Himba are a semi-nomadic tribe in northern Namibia with minimal exposure to Western artifacts and a language that contains none of the terms for simple shapes (such as those listed for some of the geons). Ms. Nederhouser will be joining a British team studying color and linguistic discriminations. There is some urgency in this research because the Namibian government will soon expand tourism to this remote area, with the consequent increase of exposure to manufactured-world artifacts. Broader impacts of this research include a better understanding of natural diversity in a fundamental mental capability.