Driving: The Peripheral Experience!

When you think about the eye and its many capacities, all allowing us to see and experience the world around us, it is always interesting to see the limitations of the eye. Seeing I believe is a very coordinated effort put on by both the eye and the brain. The eye takes in information and the brain sorts it out giving us sight. The way in which we see is also very interesting. The eye can only focus on one thing at a time, the brain is virtually unlimited in the processes it can work out, but the eye is only able to focus on one thing at a time. Realizing this I began to think how the brain compensates so much for the eyes, you could say, short-comings. The eye, only able to focus on one thing at a single time relies on the peripheral vision, the brains ability to make us aware to what we are not focusing on. Then I thought, “When I drive, I am really relying on my peripheral vision more than my main vision.” Then I thought what a scary concept that this is. When we drive and interact with other cars on the roads, we are all involved in a, agreed upon, system of not seeing things clearly. While you watch this clip, focus on the area of the screen that you would normally watch if you were driving. Then come up with a list of everything that you are recognizing with your peripheral vision. When you drive you are taking in a lot more than just what is twenty feet in front of you. It’s a wonderfully orchestrated symbiotic exercise, with the eyes and the brain, allowing us to drive. I hope that next time you drive you will realize what a wonderful system of organic machines allows us to get from point A to B.

Enjoy the Peripheral Experience!