Have you ever wondered why you may see stars when you get hit on the back of your head? Well, we can thank our visual cortex for that. With humor and much knowledge, Jeff Diamond, Brain Scientist at NIH, kept KID visitor’s eyes peeled for what would come next. Dr. Diamond displayed many optical illusions that allowed the audience to take a closer look at their visual perceptions, and its limitations.
In one test, the audience covered their left eye and stared at an “X” on the left side of the paper. The other side of the paper was marked with a dot. As they stared at the “X” for a few seconds, the dot disappeared! Although, once visitors removed their hand from their eye, the dot was still there! Magic or science? Let’s stick to science here. Dr. Diamond explained this as our blind spot.
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