• Question: If out eyes process everything upside-down, surely we would be walking upside-down?

    Asked by wizzyg12 to Sam, Rob, Matt on 19 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Sam Geen

      Sam Geen answered on 19 Jun 2013:

      Our brain actually adjusts and turns everything the right way up after it leaves the eyes. Researchers gave some people glasses that turned everything look upside down – after a while their brain adjusted and turned everything back around again! The brain is amazing at stuff like that. Give your brain a hug, sometime. Like, inside your skull. Don’t get it out. It’s shy. Actually don’t hug your head, that’d look weird. Forget what I said.

    • Photo: Matthew Pankhurst

      Matthew Pankhurst answered on 19 Jun 2013:

      Our brain really does keep us nice and happy in our reality, and this is a great example. Light some into our eyes and the front and refracts (the light bounces off the curved lens). The light reaching the top part of the lens bends down, and crosses the light which has hit the bottom part of the lens and has been bent upwards – so the image at the very back (called the retina) is upside down. You’re absolutely right. And yes, as Sam says our brains flip it back (think of it as clever software!). What gets me is why this happens in the horizontal, but apparently not in the vertical as well? After all, our lenses aren’t a curved surface in only one direction, they are like a cup, not a half-pipe…

Comments

  • Photo: wizzyg12

    wizzyg12 commented on :

    Thank you! I some how had this idea that we were walking upside-down. PS i may hug my brain in private, he is very helpful 🙂

  • Photo: Matt

    Matt commented on :

    hee hee – you can actually squeeze your brain by not drinking enough water. The brain dries out a bit, gets a little smaller and pulls on the inside of the skull where it is attached- which is common cause of a headache… I’m not recommending this – just getting all sciency on you because it’s cool… 🙂