Which part of the eye do we actually see out of? Like if we covered our pupils could we still see a bit with our irises and the whites? And whats the purpose of the iris?

Question

Which part of the eye do we actually see out of? Like if we covered our pupils could we still see a bit with our irises and the whites? And whats the purpose of the iris?

In: Biology

Answer 1

The iris, in addition to its light-controlling function, also functions for communication and display- humans are *very* good at telling where other humans are looking based on where the darker dot of the iris is in the eye. And one theory on why blue eyes are somewhat popular is that it’s easy to tell when the blue-eyed person’s pupils are dilated, which is a display of interest.