PREDICTION OF INTERACTIONS BETWEEN VISUAL FORMS BY PRODUCTS OF LIE OPERATORS

Two fundamental propositions of a mathematical model for human pattern perception based on the appropriate Lie algebras, i.e., that the human observer uses tangent vector information as a description of local pattern features when perceiving shapes (vector fields), and that pattern interactions may be predicted from the commutation properties of vector fields, were further analyzed and tested experimentally. The results support the Lie algebra model; this model has greater theoretical scope than other models recently proposed for human pattern perception.