On Constructing a Reality - Understanding Understanding: Essays on Cybernetics and Cognition - page 213

FIGURE 2.
there is substantial loss (Fig. 2) of a large portion of the visual field
( scotoma ). 9 A successful therapy consists of blind-folding the patient over
a period of one to two months until he regains control over his motor
system by shifting his “attention” from (nonexistent) visual clues regarding
his posture to (fully operative) channels that give direct postural clues from
(proprioceptive) sensors embedded in muscles and joints. Note again
absence of perception of “absence of perception,” and also the emergence
of perception through sensorimotor interaction. This prompts two
metaphors: Perceiving is doing, and If I don't see I am blind, I am blind; but
if I see I am blind, I see.
Alternates
A single word is spoken once into a tape recorder and the tape smoothly
spliced (without click) into a loop. The word is repetitively played back with
high rather than low volume. After one or two minutes of listening (from
50 to 150 repetitions), the word clearly perceived so far abruptly changes
into another meaningful and clearly perceived word: an “alternate.” After
ten to thirty repetitions of this first alternate, a sudden switch to a second
alternate is perceived, and so on. 6 The following is a small selection of the
758 alternates reported from a population of about 200 subjects who were
exposed to a repetitive playback of the single word cogitate: agitate, anno-
tate, arbitrate, artistry, back and forth, brevity, ça d'était, candidate, can't you
see, can't you stay, Cape Cod you say, card estate, cardiotape, car district, catch
a tape, cavitate, cha cha che, cogitate, computate; conjugate, conscious state,
counter tape, count to ten, count to three, count yer tape, cut the steak, entity,
fantasy, God to take, God you say, got a data, got your pay, got your tape,
gratitude, gravity, guard the tit, gurgitate, had to take, kinds of tape, majesty,
marmalade.
Comprehension *
Into the various stations of the auditory pathways in a cat's brain micro-
electrodes are implanted that allow a recording (electroencephalogram)
* Literally, con = together; prehendere = to seize, grasp.