Perception
MIT OpenCourseWare's Perception course examines how the senses convert physical stimuli, light waves, sound waves, chemical molecules, into neural signals, and how the brain turns those signals into inferences about the world. The emphasis falls on vision and audition, with additional units on touch, taste, and smell. Lectures work through classic and modern illusions and demonstrations to show where perceptual inference succeeds or breaks down, and problem sets introduce psychophysical methods, the techniques researchers use to measure sensory thresholds and perceptual judgments quantitatively. Materials include lecture notes, readings, and assignments from MIT's Brain and Cognitive Sciences department. The course is free to audit through MIT OpenCourseWare, with no certificate offered. It suits students wanting a grounded, methods-focused introduction to sensory neuroscience rather than a purely conceptual overview of perception.