Single Idea 3147

[catalogued under 18. Thought / C. Content / 1. Content]

Full Idea

Recent experiments (Shepard 1982) suggest people have imagistic representations they inspect when solving problems. In comparing two rotated images, the time for comparison varies with the angle of rotation.

Gist of Idea

Problem-solving clearly involves manipulating images

Source

Georges Rey (Contemporary Philosophy of Mind [1997], 2.5.3)

Book Reference

Rey,Georges: 'Contemporary Philosophy of Mind' [Blackwell 1997], p.54


A Reaction

This doesn't prove that they are slowly rotating something. It may just be harder to make the leap to the new shape, when it is 'further away'. Picturing a 20-sided figure, we don't add sides one-by-one.