The Eye is The Most Complicated Sense Organ

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The eye; the most complicated sense organ

General – Introduction to the subject

A. Adaptation of sense organs to our biological evolution

Sense organs, as the other organs, are the result of our continuous biological evolution and are built is such way so they can meet our needs.

B. The electromagnetic spectrum and what we are able to see

The electromagnetic spectrum contains a large width of energy areas but we are able to see only a small part of this spectrum, the visible light spectrum.

Figure 1

As you can see the visible area is between the Ultra-violet and Infra-red areas.

With a simple experiment we can show than light from sun can be separated into this light spectrum. Using a prism and a piece of paper with a hole on it (the hole helps us abridge the light into a single beam) and point the beam onto the prism. On the other side we place another piece of paper and we can see the light spectrum.

C. What we see differs from what animals see

It’s a fact that what see differs from what animals see. Humans see the world in a totally different way that bees see for example.

In these pictures you can observer that humans can see the entire visible light spectrum and would be able to see the rich greens of the grass on the left, prairie dogs (=τρωκτικά) and squirrels are red/green color blind, and only perceive the blues, yellows, and grey of the landscape.

Figure 2

Sharks do not possess the same variety of photoreceptors as humans. They have few retinal cones, and as a result, most have no color vision. Also, they have much larger rod receptors (which pick up light), with fewer numbers of them, so their vision is much less acute (=οξέια όραση) than ours.

Figure 3

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...he distinction of colours. Most common is the weakness to distinct red-green colour.

Special tests allow the diagnosis of achromatopsy. Without taking these special tests you won’t be able to know whether you have achromatopsy or not.

Figure 10

Figure 11

The eye illusions

Our visual perception cannot always be trusted. The components of an object can distort the perception of the complete object. Our mind is the final arbiter of truth. Most optical illusions are the result of

1) Incongruent design elements at opposite ends of parallel lines,

2) Influence of background patterns on the overall design,

3) Adjustment of our perception at the boundaries of areas of high contrast,

4) Afterimages resulting from eye movements or from kinetic displays

5) Inability to interpret the spatial structure of an object from the context provided by the picture.

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