You know that look… when someone is staring into the distance, but not looking at anything in particular. Sometimes associated with deep thought — or a complete absence of thought! You wave your hands in front of their eyes: “anybody there?” — then they snap back to reality.
Why do humans do that? What’s happening to the eyes, exactly, that we recognize that “look” as such? Is there an actual term for it? What’s the relationship between the brain and the eyes in that context?
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It’s that your eyes are unfocused.
When you focus on something, your eyes tilt a little toward each other. The closer the object, the more your eyes pull together, until if you stare right in front of your nose, you have “crossed eyes.”
Now, imagine sitting in a perfectly dark room and opening your eyes. There is nothing for you to look at, so there is no crossing of the eyes. They are pointed perfectly ahead, which if someone else could see you then, would make you look like you’re staring *through* everything and into the infinite distance. Your brain isn’t paying attention to anything visual, so your eyes relax. That’s the “thousand-yard stare.”
We recognize it as strange because humans are extremely visual creatures, and almost anytime we see ourselves or another person, the eyes are focused on something. Totally unfocused eyes are a sign of being “not present” mentally, whether because you’re relaxed, daydreaming, reminiscing, stunned, whatever. When you’re in your own head and not paying attention to visual stimuli, that’s odd for others to see.
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