Symmetry leads to lack of attention »

New research has found humans are likely to underestimate the amount of detail in symmetrical compared to random patterns. The findings could have implications for those who work with images which naturally form patterns, such as radiologists or medical specialists who examine symmetrical structures such as lungs. The study, from The Australian National University (ANU) Research School of Psychology, examined how people register and understand visual information by using a series of dots in symmetrical and asymmetrical patterns. "What we found is the more symmetrical the pattern, the more likely people are to underestimate the number of dots," said co-author and Early Career Research Fellow Dr Deborah Apthorp. Participants were asked to compare the two patterns to determine what they saw in each of them. Dr Apthorp says she believes a theory of redundancy is responsible for the finding. "If you've seen one half of a display, the brain determines the second half without seeing it, so it's making a mistake in underestimating the number of dots there are in it.