How Japanese Anglers See Fish?

Take a look at the photo below for 5 seconds (no more), and mentally you note what you see, then keep reading:

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I saw three big bass and a couple weeds. You probably did too because we’re Americans. Japanese folk would see something different, according to this article:

> It turns out that how you go about even this simple and straightforward task of describing what’s in this image depends on your worldview, which is greatly shaped by your culture. Essentially, people from different cultures will perceive and remember different aspects of the same picture.

> The image here, known in psychology as the Michigan Fish Test [do all the kids in Michigan have to take this test?], was presented to American and Japanese participants in a study conducted by Richard Nisbett and Takahiko Masuda.

> In their 5-second viewing, Americans paid more attention to the large fish, the “main characters” of the scene, while Japanese described the scene more holistically. For Americans, the large fish were the powerful agents, influencing everything around them. For Japanese, the environment dominated, interacting with and influencing all the characters.

> After the initial test, the researchers offered participants different versions of the fish picture, with some elements changed and some not. With the altered pictures, the Japanese were more likely to notice changes in the scenery or context. The Americans, on the other hand, proved adept at recognizing the large fish wherever they appeared. The Japanese had more trouble recognizing the fish in new contexts, outside the original environment.

This is goofy. I can’t believe it applies to fishermen – you can’t tell me Japanese anglers wouldn’t see the bass.

On the other hand, this holistic view of the scene might be what makes Japanese anglers so good.

This all reminds me of Dean Rojas telling me one time about his blue heron pattern…at least I think it was Dean.