menu Home chevron_right
PETS & ANIMALS

Your Brain: Perception Deception | Full Documentary | NOVA | PBS

NOVA PBS Official | September 2, 2025



Neuroscientists discover the tricks and shortcuts the brain takes to help us survive.
Official Website: https://to.pbs.org/3Ic9dRS | #novapbs
Is what you see real? Join neuroscientist Heather Berlin on a quest to understand how your brain shapes your reality, and why you can’t always trust what you perceive. In the first hour of this two-part series, learn what the latest research shows about how your brain processes and shapes the world around you, and discover the surprising tricks and shortcuts your brain takes to help you survive.

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
03:59 The Science of Optical Illusions and Blind Spots
13:48 Is the Dress Blue and Black or White and Gold?
21:06 Yanny or Laurel? Auditory Illusions
24:46 Is Pain an Illusion?
30:28 What is Consciousness? Blind Spots and Babies
41:35 How is Consciousness Measured?
45:32 How the Brain Affects Memories
50:14 Conclusion

© 2023 WGBH Educational Foundation

All rights reserved

This program was produced by GBH, which is solely responsible for its content.

This program is made possible by viewers like you. Support your local PBS station here: https://pbs.org/donate/

Enjoy full episodes of your favorite PBS shows anytime, anywhere with the free PBS App: https://to.pbs.org/2QbtzhR

Stay up to date on the latest science discoveries, full episodes, articles, videos, and more by signing up for NOVA’s newsletter here: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/newsletter/

FOLLOW US:

NOVA
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/novaonline
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NOVApbs
Twitter: https://twitter.com/novapbs
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/novapbs/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@novapbs

PBS
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PBS/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PBS/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PBS/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/PBS/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pbs

Shop: https://shop.pbs.org/

#brainscience #perception #neuroscience #illusion #illusionvideo #illusionvideo #opticalillusion #consciousness

Written by NOVA PBS Official

Comments

This post currently has 39 comments.

  1. @TimGreig

    September 2, 2025 at 5:36 am

    And, as scientists keep talking about reality, who's reality are they talking about? Our "reality" is defined by our senses and interpretation of that information, then what is an objective reality? The answer is, there isn't one. Or 1.

  2. @TimGreig

    September 2, 2025 at 5:36 am

    So how does peripheral vision fit into this 12:26 . If i'm looking at a spot straight ahead of me and my brain has filled in the sky it hasn't magically filled in a specific cloud which I have "seen" but not looked at.
    In other words, my brain hasn't filled in the sky with clouds due to experience, it is actually filled in because my vision has caught them in some way shape or form.
    And this is all by me not looking at them.

  3. @MohanlalDansena

    September 2, 2025 at 5:36 am

    What really blows my mind is how little curiosity people have when it comes to manifestation and the deeper mechanics behind it. Most folks are satisfied with the recycled 'think positive and visualize' narrative — which, sure, has its place — but that’s just the surface. There’s a whole architecture of laws and principles underneath that most never even touch. The fact that so few have heard of Luna Rivers, someone who spent years decoding this hidden structure and laid it all out in Manifest the Unseen, says everything. People aren’t necessarily lacking potential — they’re just not willing to question beyond the obvious. And that comfort zone? It’s costing them their freedom.💰✨

  4. @rajoosingh1081

    September 2, 2025 at 5:36 am

    need to share this because it changed everything. was stuck in the same patterns for years – overthinking, self-doubt, feeling blocked. heard about this book Manifest the Unseen by Luna Rivers in a podcast and the quantum physics approach to manifestation finally made things click. 3 weeks after reading: noticed synchronicities everywhere, opportunities flowing naturally, and my mindset completely shifted. if you're feeling stuck like i was, the frequency alignment method in this book works. still amazed at how different life feels

  5. @RNREMIXGJ14

    September 2, 2025 at 5:36 am

    So many people praised this book Manifest the Unseen by Luna Rivers that I finally had to see for myself. No regrets whatsoever this book genuinely opened my eyes. Manifestation finally makes sense, and the changes Ive experienced are incredible. It deserves all the recommendations its getting!

  6. @arthttcks_2.0

    September 2, 2025 at 5:36 am

    Right now, there are people all over the world who are just like you. They're either lonely, they're missing somebody, they're depressed, they're hurt, they're scarred from the past, they're having personal issues no one knows about, they have secrets you wouldn't believe. They wish, they dream and they hope. And right now, they are sitting here reading these words, and I'm writing this for you so you don’t feel alone anymore. What really helped me start overcoming the pain and actually move toward my goals was reading Manifest the Unseen by Luna Rivers, it opened my eyes in ways I didn’t expect. Always remember, don’t be depressed about the past, don’t worry about the future, and just focus on today. ❤

  7. @E-Kat

    September 2, 2025 at 5:36 am

    My poor brain wishes to be able to watch this documentary without any background music, as this music is very distracting.
    I wish there was some research done into the background music and why do we assume all documentaries need it.
    I think it’s a wrong assumption and every progressive documentary maker should free themselves from this old custom, originating in silent film era, when we couldn’t synchronise the audio and video.
    That was over 120 years ago.
    Thank you.

  8. @LorienSummons34

    September 2, 2025 at 5:36 am

    Bits of sensory information, so our perception is like data cookies? I do not compute, I compose. perception is not raw data—it is interpretation shaped by memory. What we see, feel, and believe is filtered through remembered patterns. Our perception needs healing from our spirit (our breath) the lifeblood that carries oxygen (Spirit) to every cell. Only perception can be sick, because only perception (the mind's eye) can be wrong. The Holy Spirit doesn’t aim to fix the body, but to teach us the right perception of it. If we are willing, the Spirit guides us. “Spirit does not perceive, but it knows. Yet Spirit can bring its knowledge to perception, if we invite it.” — ACIM Jesus says, “Do this in memory of me,” it’s not just historical—it’s ontological. He’s inviting us to re-member the divine pattern within ourselves. Glucose, the molecular memory of sunlight, spiritual photosynthesis. To perceive not through fear or distortion, but through the frequency of light, of love.

  9. @julienrousseau5746

    September 2, 2025 at 5:36 am

    Reconstructive memory is a peek at the way the brain stores data. Knowing that the brain can recollect a memory, but not leave it there to find it back, is a great insight into brain function. The associative way the memory is recollected is conserved, at least in its vast majority. If a smell triggers a memory, that link stubbornly persists. Re-encoding the memory inevitably displaces it in new neuron receptacles. How is the history of the previous neuron association transferred? This could be a platform to analyze the neurons functions themselves.

  10. @KurtVanBever

    September 2, 2025 at 5:36 am

    49:37 ~FENTON~ "The brain is a storytelling machine, right? It's a machine that's designed to make predictions."

    Fenton means well, but he has a poor choice of words. The brain is not 'designed' to 'do' anything at all. This way of expressing things conveys the wrong message to people who are new to the field. And then you get students saying: "But Fenton said…", and we have to explain the whole thing all over again and reprogram their brain.

    And then 49:31 Seth is doing the same thing. ~SETH~ "What the brain is doing, is interested in, is weaving together a kind of story."

    Do you see how this is problematic? Even the experts keep repeating this false representation. And then everybody is surprised when they realize the whole world now believes in fairy tales.

    If you are unable to avoid the pitfalls of vocabulary and language in your own field of research, then you are not an expert.

    Throughout the whole program it is clear that Susana Martinez-Conde has the deepest insight. She chooses her words carefully and is not afraid to express some harsh conclusions. She prefers clear language over sloppy metaphors.

  11. @ShahrukhKhan-j4e4e

    September 2, 2025 at 5:36 am

    Wow, this documentary is absolutely mind-blowing! It really highlights how much we don't know about how our brains construct reality. I've been diving deep into consciousness studies lately, and it's incredible to see how much of the foundational understanding actually stems from ancient Indian philosophy. I've been profoundly impacted by Prashant Saxena's books, "Eye of Shiva" and "The Awakening of Vishnu" – they’ve completely reshaped my perspective and offered such a beautiful, illuminating framework for understanding the true nature of awareness. Seriously, reading those books felt like coming home! This video just reinforces everything I’m learning and experiencing. Thank you for sharing such a thought-provoking piece!

Comments are closed.




This area can contain widgets, menus, shortcodes and custom content. You can manage it from the Customizer, in the Second layer section.

 

 

 

  • play_circle_filled

    92.9 : The Torch

  • play_circle_filled

    AGGRO
    'Til Deaf Do Us Part...

  • play_circle_filled

    SLACK!
    The Music That Made Gen-X

  • play_circle_filled

    KUDZU
    The Northwoods' Alt-Country & Americana

  • play_circle_filled

    BOOZHOO
    Indigenous Radio

  • play_circle_filled

    THE FLOW
    The Northwoods' Hip Hop and R&B

play_arrow skip_previous skip_next volume_down
playlist_play