Vision and Perception
Have you ever seen something whiz by in the “corner of your eye?” Perhaps you knew that something was going on off to one side, or in your peripheral vision, but were unable to identify a lot of details about what was happening.
For this warm-up activity, you will take a moment to complete a mini-experiment that tests the sharpness of your peripheral vision. Follow the steps below:
- Find a deck of cards and sit down at a table. Make sure you have plenty of room on each side.
- Set the deck of cards face down on the table.
- Locate something straight ahead of you on which to fix your gaze. This can be a spot on the wall, a doorknob, or another item.
- Grab a card and hold it directly in front of your face, making sure you can clearly see the card.
- Identify the card by number and suit. For example, is the card a four of hearts, jack of diamonds, or ace of spades?
- Pick up a new card, and hold it five inches to one side of your eye. The key is to keep your head and eyes straight, and focus on the original point you chose in the distance. Do not move your head or eyes with the card. Can you still identify the card by its suit and number? If so, move the card a bit further out into your peripheral vision.
Take a moment to write down answers to the following questions:
- How far to one side do you have to go before you cannot reliably identify the card?
- Do you have better peripheral vision in one eye than the other?
- Can you see some aspects about the card, like its color or if it is a face card, but not make out every single detail?
If you are like most people, you discovered that it does not take too much distance off to one side before you have difficulty identifying every aspect of a card. However, it is easy to tell something is in your peripheral vision, which extends quite far, perhaps even a few feet.