Strange but true?

[killa]

I was having a smoke with my mate last night and as per usual we talked about a lot of random things….

He said that a long long time ago (not sure of the exact dates) when the Spanish were sailing around the place looking for land etc, they stumbled across America at some point.
The natives could see something out at sea but because they had never seen such a thing as a huge galleon before, their brains could not register it so therefore couldn’t really see it.
One of the chiefs apparently sat on top of the hill looking down at the water for ages which he could see breaking against something, adjusting his brain/eyes to see it.
When the smaller boats were lowered from the galleon however he could see them as they were very similar to the small Kayak things they paddled in.

Do any of you know about this tale?
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[akaDAVE]

Is this the reverse to the phenomena when if you are looking for something specifically you fail to see it - e.g if you're looking for the ketchup in a cupboard you don't spot it even when it's right under your nose?......(only with indian chiefs and spanish galleons)
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[Mr.Everready]

How could they not see it ?

A baby sees new things every day, I'm sure their brains take it in so why not the Indians ?
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[NC30UK]

He could see it, but he could not recognise it as a boat, or as a threat.

If you saw an alien not moving, chances are it would look so unlike what you have come to expect life forms to look like, that you wouldnt realise it was an alien, intelligent or even alive, it would just a be a thing.

The indians probably thought it was a monster...or an island.

The human mind is fearful and suspicious of that which it doesnt understand, so when your eyes pick up on something odd your brain makes you focus on it, so if anything the indians would have noticed it before any modern day person.

[Suzuki]

They may not have known that it was a boat with people on, but they could definitely see it.

Never heard that tale before, and sounds completely ludicrous. Since you were smoking I'll let you off.
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[G]

Sounds like a 'SEP' field from one of the HHGTTG series.

Quite liked the idea, it was a special field that made the mind of people viewing it decide that it was "Someone Else's Problem" and so completely ignore the completely out of place item .

Pretty sure it doesn't happen 'naturally' though.

[killa]

[RiderOfTheSto...]

If this story is true, at what point did someone realise it and who told the story?
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[killa]

This is why I posted, maybe some research is in order……
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[greatmoorred]

i thought the aztecs/mayans ( not sure who met them first ) had a story in their religion about pale skinned gods coming from the sea. So when a boat full of theiving spanish turned up they were treated like gods. They then proceeded to kill everyone and steal all their gold.

[akaDAVE]

I think it is mroe about recognition of objects. As said above he may have seen it but not recognised it as a ship or boat.

I've always loved the idea of showing modern inventions and technology to someone from way back in history, or some savage from the wilds of borneo for example.
Imagine you had lived in a jungle all your life with the most basic of tools and shelter. Suddlenly you are presented with a modern supercar/bike - Pagani Zonda, R1 or similar.
You wouldn't have a bloody clue what it was. You'd have no reason to suspect that it even moved or which way it went.
I guess if you had experience of wheels you might start to work out this fact. You would find the synthetic materials and colour quite incredible. Even the lights would be lost on you.
You might start to recognise ergonomic features such as the seats, handlebars. The mirrors would scare the shit out of you.
Imagine strapping them in and taking them round a track. Basically I'd just love to see thier face!!
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[McGee]

[Danny]

I think the evidence for this is purely anecdotal, but there are fairly solid theorys to back it up.

[colin1]

i think its a case of not seeing the wood for the trees.
Its about perception rather than what was actually visible.

Having said that I still reckon they saw the galleon and thought thats a big fuckiing kayak ! Its fucking huge ! wtf ?!

or words to that effect
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[ali-b]

There are known neurological conditions where the recognition centres in the brain don't function correctly, some cases are so severe that even people who are seen daily can't be recognised until another indicator (such as voice or scent) is activated in the brain of the person with the affliction.

There were also experiments done on warships where they were painted garish colours rather than camo colours and because of this the brain 'couldn't see' it because it was looking for something else.

Maybe something along those lines?

A.

[sickpup]

Did you jump into bed together after the smoke?

[colin1]

dont rise to the bait killer
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[lozzypop1]

On Friday, Aug 3 1492
Christopher Colombus (convinced the earth was round) believed the eastern coast of Asian and the orient lay west of Europe.
Under the patronages of Spain's king he headed his ships to san sebastian in the canaries then on september 6th turned west into the open atlantic.
AT 2am on october 2nd columbus wrote in his diary 'There we soon saw naked natives... a landscape was revealed to our eyes with lush green trees many streams and fruits of varios types.'
On october 17th he noted 'on all these days i have been in India it has rained more or less constantly' He firmly believed he had landed on the eastern coast of Asia...
he died on may 20th 1506 never knowing that the land he discovered was America.

Typical man... couldnt stop to ask directions!
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[killa]

I think Ali B and NC30UK had a good points on this, somehow I can’t comprehend my brain not being able to see something like a huge ship but then the time we grow up in today I would say there isn’t much we can’t have seen already because of media and the internet, such things I guess we are all prepared for.
If all you had seen in your existence were animals, plantation other humans and make shift small boats, something the equivalent of an Atlantic liner would be quite a thing to analyse for such a primitive mind.
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