why is it that if we look at special reverse color pictures 30 seconds, then look away and blink you see the picture in color
In: Biology
This is to do with something called neural suppression. When your brain receives the same signal constantly, it begins to forget about it because it sort of stops caring. It’s the same reason you don’t notice your nose all the time even though your eyes can *easily* see it. (Sorry if you’re now noticing it!)
White light in out brain gets picked up as a mix of red, blue, and green signals from the relevant cones in our eyes.
Say you look at something red for a long time. Your brain gradually turns down the volume (sort of) of the red as nothing is changing so it doesn’t care. This allows it to be more sensitive to small changes in other colours without being distracted by the red.
Now, let’s say you look at something white. Your eyes are picking up on all the red, green, and blue light. But your brain is still ignoring the red, at least partially. This means your brain picks up on more of the blue and green. Blue+green=cyan, which is opposite red on the colour wheel.
This is the same reason looking at a spinning wheel for a while can make things morph and twist. Same goes for playing something like guitar hero. Your brain begins to ignore the feeling of constant motion in one direction. When that stops, you sort of perceive the opposite motion because you’re ignoring a signal that isn’t there anymore.
Also, legs spinning after riding a bike, and feeling like you’re still on a boat once you get off.
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