Hero

human beings tend to blindly trust their perception, to the point of considering it to be shared by everyone.

Without thinking, does the black figure seem to be facing us, or does it have its back to us? Are you above it, or below? You’re hesitating…

Now look at the image below: the individual clearly seems to be facing us, their elbows leant on the barrier, and they’re located above you. And now that you have this image in mind, look at the first version of the image again. The interpretation you make of it will copy the scenario that image (a) led you to see, and now the black figure appears to be facing you at a low-angle shot

brain, which shelters our knowledge, operates through estimates. The outcome is that our knowledge of things and of the world is always relative.

“We don’t see the world as it is, but rather as we are

perception goes through our senses first.

something unreal has just happened. This is what we call “magic”.

and was in good health, but two days after arriving back fell ill, developing a dry cough and chills. But he continued to work for another week before deciding to present himself at an outpatient fever clinic at his local district hospital. He complained of feverishness, chills, a persistent cough and shortness of breath. He was found to have a fever – an elevated body temperature of 39°C – and a chest X-ray showed ‘multiple patchy shadows’ in both lungs: the organs were inflamed and the alveoli, the tiny sacs where oxygen is exchanged for carbon dioxide, were full of fluid.1 He tested positive for SARSCoV-2, the strain of coronavirus that led to the worldwide disease of Covid-19.
He was admitted to an isolation ward, put on supplemental oxygen and given interferon alpha and two antiviral drugs. He was also prescribed an antibiotic in case he developed secondary bacterial pneumonia. As he was short of breath he was started on daily steroids to control the inflammation inside his lungs. None of these drugs were proven to be effective in treating Covid-19, but the doctors were keen to try anything to stop the progression of the disease.
Following treatment, the patient’s temperature dropped to 36.4°C. But the cough, shortness of breath and fatigue did not improve. Worryingly, another X-ray taken 12 days after the onset of illness showed worsening lung infiltration. Surprisingly

Stop acting so small. You are the universe in ecstatic motion

It is never too late to be what you might have been

What we learn from these two examples of bistable illusion is that human beings tend to blindly trust their perception, to the point of considering it to be shared by everyone.