• Question: do our eyes show us everything like it actually is?

    Asked by mayakatz to Betul, Bridget, Ceri-Wyn, Laurel, Maria on 20 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Ceri-Wyn Thomas

      Ceri-Wyn Thomas answered on 16 Jun 2010:

      That’s a brilliant question! And the answer is no. While we can see the visible portion of the EM spectrum we can’t see very far outside of it. We don’t detect infra red visually- nor ultra violet although we feel their effects. Bees, when they see flowers, see not only the colour and shape of the petals but UV markings as well. We’ll never see flowers the way bees do. Looking at a supernova through an infra red detector is far better than just looking at it’s visible light signal too. Of course other wavelengths of EM light are also invisible to us.

      Also- some events occur too quickly for us to see- we don’t process the information quickly enough. Of course many components of our universe are far too small too. We don’t see the multitude of organisms that live on/in our own bodies; we don’t see neutrinos whizzing through us. Somethings are also too slow! There is a whole world out there that our eyes are incapable of seeing- which is one of the reasons why science is so cool- it allows you to see so much more than what’s before your eyes.

    • Photo: Bridget Waller

      Bridget Waller answered on 16 Jun 2010:

      Very, very good question. No, our eyes don’t show us exactly how the world is. Our brain filters information and forces us to attend to information that is most important for us, such as other people and their faces. If we didn’t have this ‘filter’, we would be overwhelmed with information and wouldn’t be able to navigate our social world properly. All animals have a similar process, where evolution has equipped them with a way of seeing the world that works best for them. Some animals are better at seeing movement, some are better at seeing colour etc. It depends on how they have evolved.

    • Photo: Laurel Fogarty

      Laurel Fogarty answered on 20 Jun 2010:

      There are wavelengths of light that we cannot see like ultraviolet light and infrared light. We have ways to detect these wavelengths and make them visible though. I think in general our eyes pick up most things but our brains are very good at tricking us into thinking we see things that we don’t. Someone like Bridget who studies psychology will be able to tell you more about that…

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