In the Eye of the Beholder
What do we make of what we see?
Today’s brief venture around Put-in-Bay brought some interesting views into our lens. Some prompt memories, some propel us toward history, others awaken the symbolic significance of objects in our environment.
Kim Meidenbauer, Ph.D., an assistant professor at Washington State University, explains, “elements of our physical environment can impact our emotional states, our cognitive functioning, our physiological states, and even our social behavior.” She identifies three key points:
- Thoughts of individuals vary based on the type of environment they are in.
- Natural space leads to more positive and less impulsive thoughts.
- Fundamental visual features of an environment affect what we think about.
As Walt Whitman wrote in Song of Myself, “You shall listen to all sides and filter them from your self.”
