Mind Illusions

Do we know what the world looks like? The eye is made up of some of the most amazing tissue in the body. The lens, for example, is perfectly clear, perfectly curved and is capable of focusing on an incredible amount of data. But vision has only partly to do with the retina, lens, and cornea. Understanding what we see mostly happens in the brain, which is why a person with perfect vision is still susceptible to optical illusions. Do we know what the world looks like? We know approximately what it looks like, which is enough to get by, but our perception of the world is not without a certain amount of 'misreading.' Our visual nervous system approximates color, shape, and dimension. The process of seeing begins with the presence of light, an image being formed on the retina, and an impulse transmitted to the brain, but there are many other factors that play a part in how we perceive visually. Our perceptions are influenced by our past experiences, imagination, and associations.