ABSTRACT

The averaging of waveforms necessary to detect small cortical evoked potentials which was pioneered by George Dawson, and the periodicity of component waves resulting from interference identified by Thomas Young, reveal selected components of the visual record to be diminished and others to be enhanced and thus salient. Surprisingly, these examples of achieving salience in neurophysiology and physics were anticipated two millennia ago by the Greek artist Zeuxis. When commissioned to paint a portrait of Helen of Troy, Zeuxis used a not dissimilar method of selection which still resonates today in the carnal artistry of Orlan. These examples reveal the important contribution of graphic methods to the depiction and hence the significance of salience in both the sciences and the humanities.

摘要

George Dawson 开创的检测小皮层诱发电位所需的波形平均，以及由 Thomas Young 确定的干扰产生的分量波的周期性，揭示了视觉记录的选定分量被减少，而其他分量被增强并因此显着. 令人惊讶的是，两千年前希腊艺术家 Zeuxis 就预见到了这些在神经生理学和物理学中取得突出成就的例子。当委托宙克西斯为特洛伊的海伦画像时，他使用了一种相似的选择方法，这种方法至今仍在奥兰的肉体艺术中产生共鸣。这些例子揭示了图形方法对描绘的重要贡献，因此揭示了显着性在科学和人文学科中的重要性。