cognitive operations
(thinking)
are essential ingredients of perception itself
cognitive ? sensory perceptions, memory, thinking, learning

( Wittgenstein )
thinking is not private process but activity of working with signs,
both verbal and pictorial
passive reception + active receiving
perspective, distance? observers knowledge
small car, big car

vision is selective
senses evolved as biological aids for survival
active selectivity is therefore a part of cognition

satiation and adaptation
stop reaction when given stimulus reaches them again + again
rxns to monotony (conscious + physiological)

to see means to see in relation
 

gestalt theory
impose structure on the world in order to make it meaningful
1   parts can be assessed individually
2   the whole is greater than and different from the sum of its parts

perceptual act is never isolated
Arnheim = only most recent phase of a stream of inumerable similar acts,
performed in the past and surviving in memory

experiences of present, stored and combined with memories of the
past precondition understanding of the future

simplicity + tension reduction
preserves distinguishing traits (complexity)
most aesthetically pleasing patterns
familiarity = novelty