Why we have blind spots

[Mr. P]

Do spend 8 minutes on this one. Worth it.



<!-- m -->http://www.wimp.com/blindspots/<!-- m -->

[Haunty]

Awesome. I couldn't get the thing at the end to work, but I'll try again when I get back from work.

[Hugo.]

I knew about the optic disc causing the blind spot but it was still a cool video.



[youtube]iTWB65WXxyQ[/youtube]

I like this one about the evolution of the eye.

[Haunty]

I don't want my kids watching videos on evolution b/c it might change them.

[Hugo.]

Jesus

[Haunty]

You were supposed to rimshot that, asshole.

[Hugo.]

[jawn galliano]

visual perception is all kinds of neat i took a class on it (well, most of the class was devoted to visual anyway) last year, it was one of my favorites

[Hugo.]

Divulge one information there please.

[jawn galliano]

there are single neurons devoted solely to detecting highly specific directional lines within the visual fields. for example, there is a single neuron corresponding to any given area of the visual field that will detect this line: |. tilt it just a tiny bit and that line is detected by a different neuron, if its position changes within your visual field it will be detected by another and etc.



the more interesting part though is that this was an entirely accidental discovery. it was pure luck that the researchers who found it were recording exactly the right neuron that would fire when one extremely specific thing happened. iirc it was one of the experimenters removing a slide (out of frustration, due to the test-monkey's neuron not responding to the experimental stimuli) from the apparatus they were using in the test, at just the right angle. had nothing to do with the experiment they were actually doing, just good old dumb luck

[Haunty]

lucky science