Why things look the way they do: we live in a Cartesian grid of reified concepts.
Frontiers in Psychology January 1, 2025 Guy C Brown
The built environment consists mostly of objects that are simplified, cartoon-like versions of concepts—such as chairs, rooms, and streets—designed by minds to be easily recognized and understood by other minds. These reified concepts have flat, homogeneous surfaces in geometric shapes with few colors and textures, making them easy to identify. They are organized within a Cartesian grid that aids perception, location, and memory. Simple concepts nest within complex ones (e.g., rooms within houses within cities), guiding behavior within society's externalized mind. Non-conceptual components are actively removed, creating low information entropy and the illusion that reality is entirely conceptual. This framework applies to design, architecture, aesthetics, and phenomenology.