Seeing Is Not Always Believing; We See Wrongly

I can't remember how many times I have heard or used, "seeing is believing". In fact, I come across this cliché in conversations and or text almost every week. 

Of course, seeing is believing. But if we examine this phrase in relation to some real life circumstances, we will discover that seeing is not always believing. Digressing a little, this further buttresses the saying that nothing is 100% guaranteed.

The human eye is such a powerful organ that it can negatively influence our other senses. In other words, what we see is capable of overshadowing the judgement of our other sense organs.

1. The "Mermaid" in Ibadan 

Some weeks ago in Ibadan, Nigeria, a fish seller raised an alarm after unpacking a carton of frozen fish she had brought home. While unpacking the carton, she found a strange creature among the fish, which she identified as a mermaid.

She quickly called for help, and most of the people who came also believed it was a mermaid. Everyone who believed had one theory or another about the creature, and at some point it spread all over the place that the mermaid had even spoken after being worked on by “Osun worshippers.”

However, at the end of it all, what many people thought they had seen was simply a misconception. The supposed mermaid turned out to be nothing more than an octopus.

2. The Incident at Obafemi Awolowo University

A few months ago at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Nigeria, a student gave birth in the Moremi Hostel toilet, and it was initially reported that she had attempted to flush the baby down the drain.

At least, that was what we heard at first.

However, as the story unfolded, it was gathered that the first few people at the scene had interpreted what they saw and heard based on the circumstances before them. There was blood all over the toilet, a baby in the toilet, and a young lady standing nearby. For people who were quick to expect the worst, that was enough to draw their own conclusions.

Later, however, it emerged that she was not trying to kill the baby. In fact, it was quite the opposite. The baby ended up in the toilet because she had been suffering from a severe stomach upset and was using the toilet when she unexpectedly went into labour. She was not expecting the baby at all.

Now, I cannot say with absolute certainty what really happened, but the incident clearly shows that different people can witness the same situation and come away with completely different interpretations.

I would love to write follow up stories, both funny and serious, about the incidents above, but I’m trying to remain objective here.

Now, let’s take a look at two well known illusions.

 1. The McGurk Effect

Below is a video demonstrating an illusion known as the McGurk Effect, showing how what we see can influence what we actually hear.

 

2. The Moving Image Illusion

Below is an image that appears to be moving, when in actual fact it is completely still. It is arranged in such a way that it creates the illusion of motion.

The point is that you cannot always be certain of what you see, because what you see may simply be your brain’s interpretation of the information before it. The same goes for hearing. Just because you heard something does not necessarily mean you heard it correctly.

So perhaps “seeing is believing” is not always true after all.