My vision does weird things, does yours? (and why?)

[visceral_instinct]

So I was sitting in bed at 3am being hyperactive and bored, in total darkness, and I noticed something.

In my peripheral vision, I noticed the luminescent lines on the hands of my alarm clock. But when I focused on them directly, they disappeared, due to the 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 or so neon dots that appear in your vision when it's dark.

It seems I am far better at discerning patterns with my peripheral vision than when I focus directly.

Does everyone else have this thing? and if so why does your vision do that?

 

[codanblad]

So I was sitting in bed at 3am being hyperactive and bored, in total darkness, and I noticed something.

In my peripheral vision, I noticed the luminescent lines on the hands of my alarm clock. But when I focused on them directly, they disappeared, due to the 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 or so neon dots that appear in your vision when it's dark.

It seems I am far better at discerning patterns with my peripheral vision than when I focus directly.

Does everyone else have this thing? and if so why does your vision do that?

you need madanthony, but i heard in a lecture that the edges of your eyes, which give peripheral vision, see in black and white, because they're just needed to detect movement (they went further to say its an evolutionary thing for sensing danger). so i am speculating that the part of the eye responsible for peripheral vision is better suited to discerning patterns, or doesn't suffer the same problems at night as the centre of your eyes etc. again, you need madanthony.

 

[Xylene]

Maybe peripheral vision is better suited to detecting movement, because that would give you the evolutionary advantage of possibly reacting fast enough to avoid a threat from someone or something trying sneak up on you from the side. That's why non-predatory animals have their eyes on the side of their head, because it gives them a much broader field of vision and helps to keep them safe from predators unless they're really young or really old, or injured, in which case they're fair game, literally.

Predators have their eyes set in the front of their heads, with their focus straight ahead but a huge blind-spot behind their heads. That big rear blind-spot may be why so many predatory species hunt in packs; knowing that you've got several of your own species behind you, instead of a potential enemy, is very comforting...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peripheral_vision

 

[visceral_instinct]

Yay, I'm normal.