Reply to comment

I think what i have learned from our discussion about vision is that we are more similar then different. As we saw the optical illusions, almost everybody could see the different images (skull and the lady, the flashing lights going one way and then the other) but no one saw some crazy third option. I think when given two equally valid options the brain's subjectivity is a huge factor, but for the majority of life this is not the case. We tend to see things in absolute terms, and when a situation is ethically murky, we wish we could see it in absolute terms. If our brains weren't similar enough to interpret the same data in a highly correlated manner then as a species we would have never agreed upon anything. It is important to have an orginal point of view but it is better to be able to agree on things.

On a less related note, I was wondering if it is possible to see time. We understand that what we are seeing is always delayed because of the time it takes for light to reach our eyes, but just how aware we are of this effect is unclear to me. There have been times when I have seen something far away, flinched and then looked again only to see that what i thought was going to instantly harm me, hasn't even reached me yet. i certainly flinched out of anitcipation but as that ecperience happens more often, i begin to flinch less. Does this mean i can see time better? Maybe if we had some other optical molecule like cylinders or pyramids to go with our rods and cones, we might be able to better percieve time.