Visual Reality

    I recently listened to “How Can Going Blind Give You Vision?” by Isaac Lidsky. I also read the article, “The Science of Why No One Agrees on the Color of This Dress, ” by Adam Rogers. After listening and reading about the brain, I continued to find myself pausing in awe of how the brain functions and processes things differently. Both the Ted Talk and article correlate by talking about vision and how the brain processes what we are seeing in front of us. 

    As the eyes and brain work together to process signals into an image, it usually has no problem with distinguishing colors. With the example of the gold/white or blue/black dress, it shows us how easily our minds can deceive us. Our eyes have adjusted to seeing in daylight, but there are so many different variations of daylight and what that might look like. Since there are different answers as to which two colors the dress is, this shows us how humans are wired differently. Our eyes and brain discount the blue or the gold side, and this could possibly tie into the fact that each person has a different variation due to experience or exposure. Neuroplasticity more than likely plays a big role in the idea because we do not all live in the same environment with the same exact color and the same exact brightness of the sun every single day.

    Continuing with the topic of vision, Lidsky does an amazing job of describing what it is like to see when you are blind. He describes himself as living his life ‘eyes wide open,’ and pushing forward with his goals and ambitions he was once afraid to do. I love how his experiences allowed him to see his life in a different light. Even though he cannot see, the brain is so powerful that it can send signals so he can re-envision objects and use his memory and other senses. This is also another example of the neuroplasticity because losing his sight has allowed him to see in many different ways. He finished with a great quote, “Only thing worse than being blind is having sight with no vision.” My ultimate take away is that I need to live with my eyes wide open, and stop letting fear and assumptions guide your life. The only person keeping you from following your dreams or living the life you want is you. Make your own reality, and make it count.