The Dress and Vision

Picture this: 

The year is 2015. You show up to school and everyone is arguing. You have never seen a divide like this. You rack your brain to try and remember any big events that were coming up. Was this a political debate? Was there a fight? You reach your friends, and they show you a picture of a dress and ask, "What colors do you see?" Your answer will decide everyone's perception of you for all time. This is the experience that many people had with The Dress.

Okay, not really, but The Dress was a major topic of discussion when it first made its appearance. While it was officially determined to be blue and black, many people, including myself, saw it as white and gold. In basic terms what is happening is that our brains are adjusting certain aspects of the lighting which can influence how the dress is seen. It is almost as if our senses are playing tricks on us, and we see what we want to see.  In a talk by Isaac Lidsky, he says, "Seeing is believing. Sight is truth." This is an idea that many people believe. However, he goes on to say that this is not always the truth. Since becoming blind, he has decided that sight is a way we are able to shape our reality into an illusion that we want to see. Despite the fact that many think the purpose of vision is to see the world around us how it is, Lidsky comments that sight is designed to be helpful to us and be useful. He says that he gained vision when he was no longer able to see. 

I think that the biggest take aways that our sensory system really is amazing, and we are in control of how we view the world.