• Question: If humans look in one direction at a time, how comes you can still see what's going on roughl behind you or to you side?

    Asked by syria12345 to Laura, Lily, Mark, Paul, Sarah on 21 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Lily Asquith

      Lily Asquith answered on 21 Jun 2010:

      You can see everything from the level of your left ear to your right ear, which is 180 degrees. Because the pupil is right at the from of the eye, the best direction to point your eye is at the object you want to focus on. You still ‘see’ everything to the sides (the peripherals) but it is not in focus.

      Sometimes I point my eyes in one direction but I concentrate my brain on something going on towards the side. This means my eyes aren’t actually focussing on anything, which gives them a rest.

    • Photo: Laura Maliszewski

      Laura Maliszewski answered on 21 Jun 2010:

      I think you’re referring to what we call peripheral vision where even if you’re watching TV you can see your little brother sneaking up on you without turning around.

      To be honest, I’m going to have to look this one up or ask my husband! He used to study vision, attention and memory, so maybe he can help!

    • Photo: Paul Roche

      Paul Roche answered on 21 Jun 2010:

      Do you mean peripheral vision? Our eyes allow us to see more than just straight ahead, although some people have “tunnel vision” which restricts what they can see off to the sides. But we can’t see behind us…

    • Photo: Mark Roberts

      Mark Roberts answered on 21 Jun 2010:

      Because your eyes are set p to her some peripheral vision especially to things that are moving / changing – indeed your eyes are always drawn to that

      It probably comes from evolution where if we were able to spot things that were moving we could move away from danger / hunt prey.

    • Photo: Sarah Bardsley

      Sarah Bardsley answered on 21 Jun 2010:

      Having a good visual field was helpful millions of years ago when we had predators to avoid and were foraging for food. This is probably less of an issue now but still useful making sure your friends don’t sneak up on you and when hunting for food in the fridge!

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