#it's because of where the rods and cones are placed in your eyes btw | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

marlynnofmany · 1 year

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Oh hey, fun fact I just remembered: at the edges of your vision, you can see motion but not color.

Seems wrong, doesn’t it? There’s no black-and-white area to the sides. But that’s because your brain guesses and fills it in.

Here’s the test:

Get some squares of colored paper, or anything else that’s all the same size but different colors. Felt pens, DVD cases, whatever. Pick one without looking (or have a friend do it for you.)

Look straight forward, holding the thing out to the side and behind you, so you can’t quite see it yet. Move it forward until you do. Wiggle as necessary.

When you first see something moving, you won’t be able to say what color it is, and it will be maddening. You can guess! But it’s just a guess! Then when you look, you may be completely wrong!

It’s a fun game for parties, and blowing your friends’ minds.

#thanks Mr Goodhart from high school science class #one of many cool things he taught us #fun facts #color vision #I thought of this now because a vividly colored car passed me on the freeway earlier #and I guessed wrong about what color it was #another car was in the way #blocking the view #so it first appeared as a brief flash of motion #and what I THOUGHT was a clear lemon-yellow #then when it got in front of the other car #and I got a better look #it was as green as the Hulk #now I have excellent color vision and I like to think I can trust my eyes #so this is just the weirdest thing for me #it's because of where the rods and cones are placed in your eyes btw #fascinating

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