1/28/2004   slide 17
Eye-Brain System Pragmatic
•Hermann von Helmholtz (1821-94)
–Wore prisms shifting world 11-degrees
•1896 George Stratton-glasses that inverted retinal image
–8 days
•Another experimenter (Kohler, 1962) did same for longer periods. Able to ride bicycle, ski, and more. [Palmer 1999]
Students try to play catch with inverting goggles on.
Hanover College (IN) Pyschology Dept. http://psych.hanover.edu/department/02-03/ClassPics/Sensation/Goggles_007.JPG
Constantly checking visual data against other senses and “reality” checks to influence what we see and how we feel about it.

Also seen in phenomenon of “acclimation” -- something may look strange or alarming, but if it turns out not to be, we quickly come to ignore it.

Helmholtz's Treatise on Physiological Optics is widely recognized as the greatest book ever written on vision.

Helmholtz links
http://elvers.stjoe.udayton.edu/history/people/Helmholtz.html