Uploaded December 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Gary Lupyan, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Many differences among people are easy to observe. Others, such as those concerning the quality of one s subjective experiences, tend to remain hidden. As a result, we often tend to underestimate them, assuming that the subjective experiences of others mirror our own. For example, people who lack visual imagery, tend to assume that using the 'mind's eye' is just a figure of speech. I will give a brief overview of the search for these hidden differences a case of unknown unknowns and discuss some of their behavioral consequences and the ways they can act as stress tests for theories of cognition. I will also draw curious parallels between hidden differences in subjective experience and work on cryptic genetic variation.
Learn more, follow us on social media and check out our podcasts:
https://linktr.ee/sfiscience
Gary Lupyan, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Many differences among people are easy to observe. Others, such as those concerning the quality of one s subjective experiences, tend to remain hidden. As a result, we often tend to underestimate them, assuming that the subjective experiences of others mirror our own. For example, people who lack visual imagery, tend to assume that using the 'mind's eye' is just a figure of speech. I will give a brief overview of the search for these hidden differences a case of unknown unknowns and discuss some of their behavioral consequences and the ways they can act as stress tests for theories of cognition. I will also draw curious parallels between hidden differences in subjective experience and work on cryptic genetic variation.
Learn more, follow us on social media and check out our podcasts:
https://linktr.ee/sfiscience
