Reading Activity Week #3 (Due Monday)

1. It was interesting knowing about how little we actually “see,” since lights scatter before hitting our eyes, which filter more information before the images reach our brain. I found it interesting because it is hard to imagine what the world would be if we could see all wavelengths – there would be so many more colors, and fashion as we know it would look ridiculous. If we could see every light there is without any filtering, life would be so overwhelming for us to process so much information just from sensory alone. It is interesting that the world is already beautiful when we could see so little.

2. I thought the structure of the eyes is interesting as well, and it is especially interesting when you look at the structure of a camera lens – strikingly similar to the structure of your eyes. It was interesting to me because I realized that everything I know about this world depends on my eyes and their structure. What would the world be like if we only had rods or if we only had cones? I always thought I saw everything, but now that I think about it, maybe I only see what I am allowed to see.

3. I thought it was interesting to learn about different diseases that can happen to our eyes and thus cause difficulties, because I hear stories about people born blind, or slowly becoming blind, but I never knew why. I have very bad eyesight and I need thick glasses to accommodate my everyday life; after reading this chapter I learned more about my eyes and why I see worse than other people. I also learned about different ways that people can go blind slowly without being born with nonfunctional eyes.

4. The least interesting part about this chapter is all the terms that describe every little part of the eye anatomy, because I get very confused trying to distinguish and remember all these terms. Every little detail of the anatomy has a name. Ciliary muscle and the iris would be the same thing to me if I wasn’t looking at the diagram. However, it is rather interesting looking at the different layers of the eyes knowing that some things get filtered out layer by layer and never make it to the brain cells.

5. I think the most important part of this chapter is the anatomy of the eyes. The terms are boring to learn but to understand how we perceive the world we know, why some people need glasses, why some people go blind, and why our eyesight gets worse as we age. If we want to learn about how our brains perceive incoming sensations, we need to know how our eyes process the wavelengths before the information travel to the brain, and therefore it is still important to understand the anatomy of the eyes. Usually the most boring part of the textbook is the most important part.

6. This chapter doesn’t build on the previous chapter very well, which is understandable considering the first chapter is only an introduction. However, this chapter talks about wavelength, which slightly builds on what the previous chapter briefly mentioned. The previous chapter was very general, and this chapter is a lot more detailed.

7. I want to learn more about floaters. I see terrible floaters when I pay attention to them. Sometimes they get in the way of my vision and it can be problematic at times. I also want to learn about astigmatism, which I have had for my whole life. My contact lenses are a lot more expensive than normal ones because they have to be custom-made to accommodate my eyesight.

8. I thought about my own experience with terrible eyesight. I needed glasses since I was four years old, and it kept getting worse and worse every year. My father needed -12 glasses to accommodate his eyesight. I know for a fact that a lot of it is genetics because most of my siblings need glasses, and the one that doesn’t is too young to tell. However, I have the worst eyesight and the earliest onset. My eyesight was also getting worse for a longer period of time: my older sister’s sight stopped regressing when she was 14, my brother is 16 and he stopped regressing when he was 13, the other brother is only 11 but his sight seems to be getting stable, but it is a little too soon to tell. I needed to visit my orthodontist until I was 18 to get new prescription for glasses and contact lenses. I wonder why that is.

TERMS: eyesight, orthodontist, floaters, astigmatism, sensation, perceive, regress, anatomy, ciliary muscle, iris, wavelengths, filter

The first thing I found interesting was the part of the chapter that talked about the “Photic sneeze reflex”. I’ve never experienced it but I know people who have, but have never heard a name for it. I liked learning about the different theories behind what causes it, especially since I did not know that studies of the reaction went back that far. However, I would like to know if any more recent studies have been done on the supposed “crossed brain wires” that are believed to be the true culprit.
The next think I found interesting was the part that discussed the optic disc, or blind spot, due to a lack of photoreceptors. My roommate and I both did the tests in the books to experience our blind spots and were successful, but we had different distances from our eyes that the experience took place. I had to hold the book closer than her, and it took longer for me to get them to work. I didn’t know about the optic disc or presence of a blind spot in all people’s eyes before reading this chapter.
The last part that I found interesting was the explanation of entering a bright space from a dark one and vice versa, and the trouble seeing that results(only from bright to dark spaces). This being because of a reduction in the amount of photons of light that are entering the eye. I definitely think this is something everyone has experienced before. Especially with snowy winter days when a lot of light is reflecting off the snow into the eyes, and when you go inside you can barely see, but I never really thought about exactly what causes the temporary blindness.
I found the explanation of the p and m ganglion cells the least interesting because I didn’t exactly understand how they interacted with the rest of the eye. They were the most confusing to comprehend and when konicocellular cells were thrown in as well, I got a bit confused as to what was connecting to where and what it was doing to help or hinder vision. I find things that are explained in a way I understand as unfortunately, less interesting.
I think the most helpful information was the basic structure of the eye and basic functions such as the cornea, zonules of zinn, pupil, iris, rods, cones etc. These and other structures provide the framework and do the heavy lifting from what I understood about this chapter. The cells provide interpretation of signals. The rods and cones allow us to see in different variations of light and color which are an important function of our daily lives. The disorders listed are also important because they affect how people are able to perceive the world around them.
This chapter discussed the eyes. In the previous chapter we discussed optic nerves, trochlear, abducens, and oculomotor nerves which are connected to the eyes and help carry information received in the eyes to the brain. Both chapters also discuss synaptic terminals used for chemical transmitter communication.
This chapter did not mention color blindness or sensitivity which I would really like to learn more about. I am color sensitive and I’m sure it has more to do with my OCD but would like to know more about color blindness and what dysfunctions in the eye cause color blindness.
While reading the part about going from light to dark I was thinking about how sometimes you see a color too. Specifically when I come in from a snowy day I tend to see bright pink when I blink, or when you stare at a bright light you see a black spot or something similar. It didn’t really go into that so I was also curious about those sorts of things.
Terms: Photic sneeze reflex, optic disc, blind spot, photoreceptors, photons, eye, p and m ganglion cells, konicocellular cells, cornea, zonules of zinn, pupil, iris, rods, cones, optic nerves, trochlear, abducens, and oculomotor nerves, synaptic terminals, chemical transmitter

1. I thought it was interesting to know what is actually happening physiologically when we “see” things. That there are two ways to conceptualize light, as a wave or as a stream of protons. That the images we see are only the way they are because of how little we can actually see. Our brain filters images making it so we don’t see all of the wavelengths. It also intrigued me when they talked about contacts in this part because I wear contacts. It amazes me that we can simply put a contact on our cornea and that’s considered safe. That the cornea is actually transparent, and the light protons are transmitted through it rather than reflected or absorbed. That there are so many parts including the aqueous humor and crystalline lens that I never even heard of.
2. I also thought it was interesting to read about the two types of photoreceptors which are rods and cones. That these are considered to be duplex retinas. Both of them consist of an outer segment, inner segment, and synaptic terminal. Chromophores captures the light protons in these cases, while the pigment rhodopsin is found in the rods. I found this all to be interesting just because I never knew the retina literally contains 100 million photoreceptors. To think that such a small part of us contains so much is just amazing to me.
3. I thought it was also interesting to learn about the different diseases that can happen to our eyes. In the reading a man had age-related macular degeneration, which is a disease that affects the macula. I’ve never experienced such a disease but I thought this reading was interesting because I’ve had several infections in my eyes that were hard to get through.
4. What I probably found was least interesting to me was the section about ganglion cells. I just didn’t find learning about these particularly interesting because there was so much details about them it was hard to follow. I got that there are P ganglion cells and M ganglion cells but overall it was just difficult to follow.
5. What I found to be most useful was just learning how the eye generally works and the anatomy of it. Part of perception is knowing how our eyes process. This chapter really opened my eyes to understanding how much our eyes go through to process information and send it to the brain. And that even though our eyes are pretty small compared to our bodies, they have millions of different parts to it.
6. This chapter related to our first chapter because the first chapter went over the basics of sensation and perception. The first chapter was more of an introduction that went over everything. This chapter was more just focused on how our eyes relate to sensation and perception.
7. What I would personally like to learn more about is astigmatism. I have astigmatism in my left eye and I’ve always just wanted to learn more about the problem. I’ve always thought it was really interesting that I have to wear two different kinds of contact lenses just to try to correct the astigmatism.
8. Throughout the chapter, it talked about contact lenses and why we need them. To me throughout the chapter I generally just thought about how interesting it is that we can literally put an object in our eye and it’s safe. And that some of us will have vision problems and some of us will have perfect eyesight our entire lives. Or some of us will end up with astigmatism or other problems including blindness.
Terms: physiologically, wave, protons, wavelengths, cornea, transparent, light protons, reflected, transmitted, absorbed, aqueous humor, crystalline lens, rods, cones, duplex, retinas, chromophore, anatomy, rhodopsin, outer segment, inner segment, astigmatism, synaptic terminal, age-related macular degeneration, macula, ganglion cells, P ganglion cells, M ganglion cells, sensation, perception.

The beginning of the chapter was interesting, in particular, light being a form of electromagnetic radiation and that there are two ways to conceptualize light: as a wave or as a stream of photons. I have always known that light was some form of radiation, but the book does a great job of breaking it down. The spectrum of electromagnetic energy chart was particularly helpful. Some of the information, I’ll admit, was a bit over my head, but the some of the graph’s helped me visualize it a little better. I found this interesting because when I think of “seeing” something, I don’t put physics behind it. I normally would think of just my visual system. The fact that most of the light bounces off the light striking a dark surface is absorbed. Light that is neither reflected nor absorbed by the surface is transmitted through the surface. I found the explanation of refraction interesting because so much of our “information” in light we are seeing is refracted somehow. The window that we look through or my glasses that I wear all the time.

The second part of this chapter I found interesting was the case study of the man who could not read. This story in particular hits home with me. My mother has Age Related Macular Degeneration. In the last decade or so, it has really affected her vision. The medicine (drops) and the pills she has to take just so it doesn’t progress any faster fits right in with this part of the chapter. AMD comes in two types: wet: abnormal blood vessels behind the retina start to grow under the macula, and because they are fragile, they leak blood and fluid. Dry is the second form. Dry: is a lot more common and it occurs when the macula cones degenerate. I was not aware that if a person had dry AMD it could turn into wet AMD, and vice versa. I found it interesting, that once the beginning stages of this disease are met; there is little a person can do to stop it completely.

The third item in this chapter I found interesting was dark and light adaptation. From this part of the reading, the structures of the eye were the most interesting. To read what the pupil does after light hits it, how wide it opens and constricts, and the muscles involved in the constriction. Reading more about the biology of our internal structures is important to me. After I get my degree in Psychology, I will be entering the Occupation Therapy Assistance program. Knowing what structures are responsible for what is essential to my learning. Knowing if the overall light level increases, the number of photons starts to overwhelm the system and the photopigment molecules cannot be regenerated fast enough to detect all the photons hitting the photoreceptors if essential for learning how we process of visual system.

The one part of the chapter I liked least was the center-surround receptive fields. I took biopsychology last semester and we studied this same information. I didn’t quite understand it then, and reading it again in a different text book does not help. When I look at the diagrams that are associated with this information, I understand it better. But I still can’t talk about the process because I don’t understand it.

If I can get a better grasp on the center-surround receptive fields and the different cells associated with seeing, I believe this will be one of the most important items to learn now. Knowing now will save heartache in the future. It will be important to know how horizontal cells, photoreceptors, lateral inhibition, amacrine cells, bipolar cells, (ON and OFF Center) work and what effects they have on the communication of what is processed by our retinas through the retina geniculate striate pathway to our brain work.

It is hard to relate this chapter to the previous chapter because this chapter focuses on the first steps in vision vs. an introductory chapter that covers many different aspects. The first chapter was an overview of what sensation and perception is ultimately about. This chapter zeros in on a particular item, vision and its process of determining our vision system.

I would like to know more about our peripheral vision system. The case study on the man who could not see stars intrigued me. The man had Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) which is a hereditary form of disease in your eyes. Our peripheral vision system is interesting to me because there are so many facts about it. There are certain things our brains do to process information we don’t even see. In other words, our brains fill in the blanks. I would like to know more about this system.
Some of the ideas that were going through my head while reading this chapter were diseases. There has to be a lot of diseases out there, that our visual system can form or we can inherit, my mothers’ AMD being one of them. Another item I was thinking about was how scientists studied this information we have today, and what steps they took to achieve their ideas.

TERMS: electromagnetic radiation, wave, photons, radiation, spectrum of electromagnetic energy, refraction, Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), macula, photopigment molecules, photoreceptors, center-surround receptive fields, horizontal cells, lateral inhibition, amacrine cells, bipolar cells, peripheral vision system, Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP)

1) A. I found figure 2.6 to be interesting.
B. I found this interesting because I actually did it and the red dot disappeared.
2) A. I liked the story about the man who could not see stars because of retinitis pigmentosa.
B. I liked how they connected the information with a story so it is easier to learn and remember the information.
3) A. I found the section about whistling in the dark: dark and light adaption interesting.
B. I found this section interesting because it is something that I already knew about, but I learned more and new information about it.
4) A. I found figure 2.2 least interesting.
B. I found this least interesting because it was quiet a bit of different parts is the eye to remember and a lot of different parts to learn how they work and work together.
5) I think that knowing how our eyes perceive different things such as light and dark will be most useful in the section.
6) I think that this chapter relates to previous chapters because the last chapters were more about wave lengths and frequencies and this built more on the eyes and how it perceives light.
7) A. I would like to learn more about aging-related macular degeneration.
B. I would like to learn more about AMD because I think it's important to know about different diseases things that could affect parts of our body and I would like to know if there are different treatments for this.
8) I thought about my blind spots while I'm looking at things specifically while I'm driving.
9) Terms: Blind spots, perceives, age-related macular degeneration, light, dark, adaption, retinitis pigmentosa, wave lengths, frequencies.

1. The first thing that I found interesting was how the light that we actually perceive is nowhere near the actual amount of light from a particular object. Waves of light can be absorbed, never to be seen or scattered, giving a possibly irregular appearance. This means that when we see something, what we see is only a part of the whole picture. This is interesting because it makes me wonder how things would appear if we were able to perceive all the projected light waves.
2. The next thing I found interesting was how precise the matching of the refractive power of the eye in relation to the length of the eyeball needs to be in order to see with clarity. In a perfect eye, the match is precise. This is known as Emmetropia. If the eyeball is too long, it results in nearsightedness (Myopia). If the eyeball is too short, the result is farsightedness (Hyperopia). I find it fascinating that the body requires such exact measurements to function properly.
3. The third thing that I was interested in was the photic sneeze reflex. I just happen to think the fact that being exposed to bright light after darkness causes some people to sneeze is really neat.
4. The least interesting part of this chapter was the inner mechanics of specific cells involved in seeing. For myself, it just seems like a great deal of information about a small area. While the concepts may be somewhat interesting, it just is too many minute details to keep track of.
5. All in all, I think the most useful part of this chapter in understanding sensation and perception is simply the notion of understanding the basics of a major method in which we perceive the world around us. After learning the general definition of sensation and perception, it will be useful to understand the smaller parts of it that add together to make a whole.
6. This chapter builds on the previous chapter much like I discussed in the previous answer. This chapter narrows in on a specific part of sensation and perception.
7. I would like to learn more about some different disorders in vision. I think that understanding the reasons behind why the body may not work right is really interesting. This actually ties in to the thoughts I had while reading the chapter. Particularly I thought about the fact that my own vision had gone from 20/20 to needed glasses to read the board at school nearly overnight. I am not exaggerating this at all either. Last year, I had thought the teacher forgot to focus the overhead and it turned out that it was focused. The week prior I could read the board just fine with no trouble. I would like to know why things like this occur.

Terms: Light; Waves; eye; Emmetropia; Myopia; Hyperopia; Nearsighted; Farsighted; Photic Sneeze Reflex; Sensation; Perception

what is something that you found interesting and why?
One of the things that I found the most interesting from this chapter really came from the first sentence within the book. Which for me is a good thing cause it really kept my attention and I found it easier to keep reading. But to know that the naked eye can see stars that are up to about 2000 light-years away and even further in the dark winter sky. This is something that you don’t often stop and think about is the fact that our naked eyes were at one time so strong but really why and how does it come to the fact that our eyes get weaker and we need items like corrective lenses to see just a street sign or a board in front of us but at one time the naked eye was able to see light-years away!!!
What is something that you found interesting and why?
Another thing that I found interesting was the parts of the eye. The organ of our eyes are just a small ogan over all but are a important one to our everyday functions and we often take them for granted. Our eyes are made up of many different parts and each part is used for a specific function. I think that it is really beneficial for each and everyone of use to be able to know what the parts of the eye are and to know what the functions are that way we are able to know how our brain really transcribes a image. There are many parts but one part of the eye in particular that I found interesting was the way the pupil, Retina and the optic nerve really work together to get the information to the brain to make the picture that we are seeing on the screen right now.
What is something that you found interesting and why?
Another thing that I found interesting was the section about how we psychologically see things in our everyday life. I found it extremely interesting that you are not able to just look at a wall and see that it is a wall but that the eyes are sending wavelengths and then our brain transcribes the information and makes us a image come up that is what we are to believe that we are seeing at that time.
what is one thing you found least interesting and why?
One part of this chapter that I particularly found least interesting was the center-surround receptive fields. This was something that we spend over a month on in a previous class that i have taken so I felt that this section was all information that I already knew there for I really just needed a quick reference not a whole section about the information.
What did you read in the chapter that you think will be most useful to in understanding Sensation / Perception?
I personally think that this whole chapter is useful in understanding sensation and perception because right now we are learning the basics and all of the terminology that we would not be able to learn further without knowing.
How, in what ways, does this chapter relate (build on) to the previous chapters?
This chapter doesn’t really relate back to the first chapter but more like it relates forward as the first chapter was just an introduction about the overall concepts of sensation and perception. This chapter went further into detail about starting of the first sense of sight.
What topic would you like to learn more about and why?
I would like to learn more about astigmatism as we often see that these are becoming more and more common in my family and I would like to look further into how they come about and what each individual can do to reduce their symptoms.
What ideas related to what you were reading (what did you think about) did you have while reading the chapter?
I thought a lot about the previous class I took which was similar to this course and what the professor demonstrated with the eye and each part of it and the different activities that we did to see the difference in vision.
Terms list: eye, Retina, Pupil, Optic Nerve, psychologically, Wavelengths, Transmitters, center surround receptive fields, vision, astigmatism.

1a. The first section that I found interesting in Chapter 2 covers the the importance of the refractive power of the eye being matched to the length of an individuals eyeball to ensure perfect vision when focusing on an object. When the conditions of the refractive power of the four optical components of the eye and the length of the eyeball are perfectly matched we call it emmetropia. This means that an individual does not need assistance from eye glasses or contacts to view an object correctly and with perfect acquity. When the eyeball is too long or short relative to the power of the four optical components we begin to see refractive errors in the visual system. The condition associated with the eyeball being too long compared to the optics is called Myopia or nearsightedness. Light enters the eye and is focused in front of the retina and as a result, distant objects cannot be seen very sharply. The opposing condition occurs when the eyeball is too short compared to the optics is called hyperopia or farsightedness. Light enters the eye and is focused behind the retina which results in an inability to clearly see near objects clearly. Eye glasses or contact lenses are able to correct these issues and restore vision to its optimal level.
1b. This section was interesting to me because I have myopia in both eyes. I have always had issues with nearsightedness and never fully understood why my eyes had such difficulty viewing distant objects. It is extremely annoying to struggle with vision issues so I am thankful that I am able to wear contacts to correct the problem. It will be helpful to actually understand what is happening physiologically in my visual system next time I visit the eye doctor.
2a. The second concept that I found interesting was age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This age related disease is caused by damage to the macula, the part of the retina with a high concentration of cones that aid in fine visual acuity. Elderly people with AMD experience blind spots referred to as scotomas and difficulty reading in dimly lit areas. As it develops into more extreme stages the ability to drive, read, and recognize faces will be diminished. There is currently no direct treatment for AMD but patients that suffer from the beginning stages of the condition can take high doses of antioxidants and zinc to delay further damage.
2b. I found this section interesting because my grandmother suffers from AMD. She has developed scotomas and is no longer able to operate a vehicle. She also has a hard time reading unless she is in an intensely lit area. Her eye doctor has given her supplements to slow down further damage to her macula. It is very interesting to read about what is actually happening in her visual system to cause her the loss of visual acuity. I am always intrigued by the physiological components of deficits that a human being can experience.
3a. The third concept I found interesting was Retinitis pigmentosa (RP). RP is a family of hereditary diseases characterized by the progressive degeneration of the retina. Specifically damage to the photoreceptors and pigment of the epithelium. People with this type of disease first notice vision disturbance in their peripheral vision and under low light conditions. This disease is also characterized by the slow loss of vision beginning at the age of 20 and eventually leads to total blindness.
3b. I found this type of disease to be interesting because it is highly heritable and often results in total blindness as well as blindness originating in the peripherals. My interest in visual system deficits is fueled by how important vision is. I cannot imagine slowly losing the ability to see the world around me and I think it is fascinating to look at why the damage happens and possible cures for it.
4a&b. I did not find any of the reading to be outside of my range of interests but I did not read over on-center and off-center cells as closely because I covered them extensively in Biopsychology and felt comfortable with my knowledge of their functions.
5. I think the information that will be most useful for this class will be general knowledge of what parts make up the eye and how those parts work together to form images of the world around us. I also think the knowledge of diseases that can occur in the visual system are useful for the future of our own personal health.
6. This chapter built off the first chapter by expanding on the concept of sensation and perception as it relates to the visual system. For light to become a sensation it has to be absorbed, scattered, refracted or reflected and then absorbed by a photoreceptor in the retina. After this takes place we are able to perceive the world around us and make judgements off of the picture our visual system paints for us.
7a&b. I would like to learn more about visual system diseases because they are interesting and can be related to our own personal heath.
8. While reading this chapter I thought about my experience with vision issues and the issues that my grandma has with AMD. I liked that the chapter discussed many visual issues that I could connect with and find interesting as well as the basic issues underlying the visual deficits and diseases covered.
Terms: emmetropia, myopia, hyperolia, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), scotomas, Retinitis pigmentosa (RP), visual system, sensation, perception, off-center cells, on-center cells

1. One thing I found interesting in Chapter 2 was the concept of the “photic sneeze reflex. Photic Sneeze reflex is what happens when a person steps into bright light from dark light: their pupil constricts, probably to about 2 mm, and they sneeze. Both Aristotle and Francis Bacon tried to explain this phenomenon. Francis Bacon disproved Aristotle’s pervious hypothesis that it was the heat that cause the sneeze when Bacon stepped outside with close eyes and did not feel the need to sneeze. Bacon instead thought the sun caused the eyes to water, which irritated the nose and inadvertently caused the sneeze. Current research is trying to figure out if the sneeze connected to “crossed wires in the brain”. This was interesting because I had never heard of it and my nose itches when I step into the sun, but I don’t sneeze.
2. Another thing I found interesting was the part about emmetropia, which is what happens when all four components of the eye “match perfectly” the length of the eyeball itself and the results when they don’t. Emmetropia results in eyes that sight that doesn’t require correction, IE a person who doesn’t have to wear glasses or contacts to see well. myopia or hyperopia are what happens when emmetropia doesn’t happen. Myopia, aka nearsightedness, is the result when the eye is too long. An eyeball that is too long causes the light to focus in front of the retina and distorts images in the distance. Hyperopia, aka farsightedness, happens when the eyeball is too short and the light focuses behind the retina. This caused images close to the person with it to be blurry. Astigmatism is when the cornea (aka the part that does most of the focusing) is not spiracle (concave). Myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism can all be corrected the vision is bad enough using lenses that distort the light rays as they enter the eye by using glasses and/or contacts. I thought this was interesting because I have an astigmatism that causes me to experience myopia and now I know why.
3. the third thing I found interesting was the difference between cones and rods. While all rods have the same photopigment, cones contain three different photopigments. And the three different photopigments each deal with different wave lengths (aka the colors/ lights they ab sorb the best). I found this interesting because this topic was covered in other classes I have taken but where not explained well until now.
4. One thing I did not find interesting was the part about how the brain communicates with the Ganglion cells because I found the information hard to retain because it was boring to me.
5. I think that understanding how the eye sees the world because it: first absorbs light , then reflects that light unnecessary light, and finally uses the light that was reflected to transmit the image the eye is trying to see.
6. this chapter builds on chapter 1’s concept of thresholds, specifically idea from Figure 1.6 picture , as it talks about the threshold of “I don’t hear it, now I can hear it”. But this relates to chapter 2 because I take this threshold and apply it by changing it to “I don’t see it, now I see it “and explain why by using wavelengths as new stimuli to measure.
7. I would like to research why humans have such terrible night vision compared to other animals(specifically nocturnal ones) because it is interesting as I know humans need to be able to see in the dark just as much as most other animals yet we have night vision that is less than stellar.
8. I most related to the part on Myopia and astigmatism as they both impact my everyday life since I wear glasses or contacts every day to correct for them.
9. Terms: photic sneeze reflex, pupil, mm, Aristotle, Francis Bacon , hypothesis, crossed wires in the brain, emmetropia, myopia, hyperopia, nearsightedness, retina, images, farsightedness, Astigmatism, cornea, spiracle, concave, lenses, distort, glasses, contacts, cones , rods, photopigment, wave lengths ,Ganglion cells , brain, absorbs, transmit, reflects, Thresholds, stimuli, measure, night vision, nocturnal.

1a. I found the section about Age Related Macular degeneration interesting.

1b. AMD is pretty scary. In the text it seemed as though it came with little warning. It is also virtually untreatable once it reaches an advanced stage and I think that going blind at an advanced age would be particularly difficult to navigate. I didn’t realize before this that there were two types, wet and dry.

2a. The second item that “caught my eye” was the section about Mach bands.

2b. I always love the illusionary pictures and tests. I did look at the example photo and was able to see how the illusionary line began to be less noticeable.

3a. Finally the section about retinitis pigmetosa was interesting.

3b. The fascinating part about this was how it begins and that the affected individual seemed to not even realize until he couldn’t see something that he desired. Once he was unable to see the star then he realized that there were other things he had been having trouble with such as driving at night. It looked as though there are dirt clumps as the text stated in the eye, I would be curious to know more about bone spicules and exactly what that is and how they form.

4a. I found the beginning of the chapter that talked about the parts of the eye and their functions to be the least interesting.

4b. There was so much information and I am not much of a biology person. I did think the illustration was helpful, but it is still hard to keep it all straight.

5. Understanding the parts of the eye and how they work although it is not my favorite. I think that really grasping that part will help as we learn about ways we perceive.

6. It seemed to build on the physical components of the study of sensation and perception.

7a &b. I think I would like to learn more about how the light focuses on the retina. It is interesting how we are able to see things and how our eyes adjust to see different distances.

8. While reading the chapter I thought a lot about the different things my eyes were doing as I read and looked at the illustrations. I also thought about how much I take for granted when it comes to sight. The book talked about vision failing as we get older but I still have very good vision and do not require corrective lenses.

Terms: Age Related Macular Degeneration, Mach Bands, illusion, pigmetosa, bone spicules, sensation, perception, retina

1a) eyes that see light
1b) I found this section of the book interesting because it goes into detail about how we are able to see the stars that are so many light years away. and it talks about different parts of the eye. when going through school we are never really taught about different parts of the eye or how we are able to see the way we do. we get some information in biology but not to the extent that this book and this class going into depth with. its really impotent to know how we are able to see because it might help us enhance the way we see.
2a) retinal information processing
2b) I found this section interesting because I have learned in the past about rods and cones in the eye. and the function of the cornea. this section really goes into detail how the light is used by the rods and cones. the whole rule of thumb was an interesting concept
3a) seeing illusory stripes
3b) the 1st thing that caught my attention for this section is the sentience seeing is not believing. this stuck me right away because of the information i have gained about eye whiteness testimonies that so much information you gain from sight is not always correct.
4a)physics
4b) the reason this was not as interesting to me is because im not a huge math and science to begin with so only so much of the information really hits home for me.
5) i really think the whole thing about not everything we see can be believed i think that is a really important concept
6) this chapter builds off the previous because this chapter goes into detail what seeing is and how its done. the last chapter talked about what the sensation of seeing and the perception of what it is. chapter 2 tells how chapter one is possible.
7) I would really like to learn more about not everything we see we can believe. I am interested in eye whiteness testimonies because It's my dream to become a police officer. and learning that information would be a great benefit to my job.
8) i was just thinking about the different ways i can use this information to my advantage for my job.

I found age-related macular degeneration (AMD) to be pretty interesting. While any loss of vision is a bad thing, this is especially true with scotoma, which is the blind spot that appears in the center of one's vision because of AMD. I know I would rather have all of my vision go blurry and just need glasses as opposed to this incurable disorder. That is why it is important to begin treating it as soon as it appears so that it may delay or even prevent it from progressing into the advanced stage.

I also found Ernst Mach's illusionary stripes to be interesting. Optical illusions are fascinating, because they show that we cannot always believe what we perceive in the world. If something as simple as the Mach bands was not discovered for so long, how are we to know that there are not much grander illusions that far more greatly distort the reality we are perceiving? It is also interesting because of the fact that it shows how little control we can have over our own brains. Even once we are aware that there are no light or dark stripes in the Mach bands, we still cannot help but see them no matter how hard we try.

The third thing I found interesting is more of an abstract idea. I find it infinitely interesting that even though our brains and sense organs work through nothing more than chemicals, electricity, and tissue, there is still such a thing as consciousness. Even more so, that consciousness is able to project the world around us into itself so that it is able to become aware of that world. I find myself completely perplexed by the very concept of neurons and eyes nearly every time I look into someone's eyes.

The one thing I did not find interesting was the anatomical structure of the eyes. This kind of conflicts with my fascination in how eyes are able to work, but for some reason, I find no interest in learning about the actual physiology of it. I suppose that is because it does not really answer how an eye works in the sense that I am thinking of anymore than just looking at the exterior of an eye ball.

I think the idea of optical illusions such as Mach bands will be most useful for me in understanding sensation and perception, because it highlights the possible discrepancy between the two.

I would like to learn more about optical illusions because of the previously stated reasons: it shows the discrepancy between sensation and perception, it shows that we are not always in control of our brains, and it provides the possibility that we are missing so much more than we think in the world.

While reading the chapter, I kept thinking about what I mentioned about consciousness and our sense organs. I suppose more than an actual idea or thought, it was more a sense of wonderment and awe.

Terms: Age-Related Macular Degeneration, Scotoma, Illusionary Stripes, Mach Bands, Sensation, Perception