1. Demonstration of Blind Spot J.W. Whitlow Rutgers University

2. Basic Phenomenon The next slide has a cross on the left and a circle on the right. Close or cover your left eye, then look at the cross with your right eye. –Move your head slowly either toward the screen or away from the screen, staring at the cross with your right eye, until the circle disappears –When the circle disappears, you have found your right eye’s blind spot.

4. Variations on Basic Phenomenon The next slide has a colored background with a brightness gradient that is darker behind the cross and lighter behind the circle Find your right eye blind spot Is the brightness at the blind spot darker, like the gradient behind the cross, or lighter, like the gradient behind the circle?

6. Variations on Basic Phenomenon The next slide has a cross on the left and a circle on the right The circle has been marked off by a ring Find your right eye blind spot Determine whether or not you can see the ring. If you cannot see the ring, adjust its size to make it larger.

8. Variations on Basic Phenomenon The next slide has a cross on the left and a circle on the right The circle has been marked off by a ring filled with color Find your right eye blind spot What color is the area where the circle was before it disappeared?

10. Variations on Basic Phenomenon The next slide has a cross on the left and a circle on the right The circle has been marked off by a ring filled with a textured coloring Find your right eye blind spot What texture is the area where the circle was before it disappeared?

12. Variations on Basic Phenomenon The next slide has a cross on the left and a circle on the right The circle has been marked off by a ring filled with colored stripes Find your right eye blind spot What happens to the lines that go through the blind spot?

14. Variations on Basic Phenomenon The next three slides have a cross on the left and a circle on the right The circle has been marked off by a ring filled with a color The ring around the circle is smaller in each of the slides Find your right eye blind spot What happens as the ring gets smaller?

18. Concluding Remarks What do your observations suggest about the visual processing mechanisms that produce the blind spot?