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Thanks Anna for referring to the Tinnitus example...it definitely shows that everything that we have been talking about with respect to 'seeing' applies equally to 'hearing'...and likely to every other sense. All of these different ways of perceiving 'reality' seem to be a good transition back into our ongoing discussion of the I-function and its role in the nervous system.

One thing we have discussed perhaps indirectly in class is whether an ultimate 'truth' exists, and how we might go about defining this truth. We mentioned in class on Thursday that people who are colorblind and who are significantly aware of their colorblindness cannot suddenly cure themselves and see as a non-colorblinded person would see. Similarly, as I found out in my research on Tinnitus, those who are aware of the ringing in their ears cannot simply eliminate these 'sounds.' We wouldn't care so much about colorblindness or tinnitus and have associations founded upon seemingly 'flawed' perceptions if we could make them disappear all by ourselves!

So maybe this is where the I-function comes into play. Many I-functions seem to be able to interpret reality from the senses, and perhaps they filter through perceived reality similarly. However, we have noted differences in the filtering of perceived reality among humans, and also within ourselves. I-functions may disagree to some extent with other I-functions (over colors for example), but they also disagree to some extent with the rest of the nervous system (inability to block out ringing in the ears, for example).

What is the meaning of these 'glitches'? Perhaps the most real 'reality' for I-functions is the existence of other I-functions! Perhaps recognition that perceived reality is not the same for everyone (or for every I-function) is MORE REAL than the perceived reality itself! Is this a distant signal from the 'ultimate truth'?