.

According to the findings of Hubel and Wiesel, many brain cells respond only to lines of

a certain width or orientation (Coon, 1995). These same cells didn’t get the least bit ‘excited’

over a dot of light or overall illumination. Other cells responded only to lines at certain angles, or

lines at certain lengths, or lines moving in a particular direction. The upshot of these findings is

that cells in the brain seem to first analyze incoming information into such sequence: lines-

angles-shading-movement-and other basic features. These findings explain why we process

written words and shapes faster than colors, since words and shapes have more definite lines

and angles we tend to recognize them more quickly than colors.

Coon, D. (1995). Introduction to Psychology: Exploration and Application (7th ed.). NY: West

Publishing Company.