The Diverse World

Abstract

Traveling the sidewalks of a busy city allows us to perceive a wide and diverse set of stimuli that many would consider to be the real world. The sounds of cars and trucks whooshing by us are mixed with the loud din of construction zones and the conversations of our fellow travelers. If we focus our visual attention on the people around us, the wide diversity of facial features, hairstyles, and clothing choices present us a cornucopia of patterns, textures, and colors. Our noses will sample the various aromas emanating from restaurants, street carts, exhaust fumes, and other odors arising from the underneath the city. This is a rich and complex environment that is often called the sensory landscape.