Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!apple!well!ewhac
From: ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab)
Newsgroups: comp.graphics
Subject: Re: 3-D perceptual abilities
Message-ID: <10520@well.UUCP>
Date: 29 Jan 89 09:29:59 GMT
References: <6382@thorin.cs.unc.edu>
Reply-To: ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab)
Organization: Samuel L. Bronkowitz Productions
Lines: 32
Quote: "Does he always kill when taken by surprise?"  -- Clonemaster

In article <6382@thorin.cs.unc.edu> leech@piglet.UUCP (Jonathan Leech) writes:
>For example, several years ago I was taught how to use a stereo microscope to
>search for asteroids.  [ ... ]

	Funny, I use a telescope :-).  (Don't panic; I know what he means.)

>    The stereo effect was supposed to make asteroids stand out from
>the flat starfield. As it happened, they did not seem to stand out
>very much for me, and I reverted to using it as a blink microscope
>instead (good exercise for the eye muscles :-) Do many people have
>this type of problem?

	Just as some people are colorblind, there are some people who are
stereoblind.  I have a bit of trouble seeing stereo (which is odd,
considering that I worked on what turned out to be decent 3D software and
images on the Amiga).  The problem is not uncommon, and the way I compensate
for it is by swapping eyes and observing if the left-right shifts are
correct.  Unless you interact with artificial 3D on a daily basis, I
personally don't think it's much to worry about, since there are a zillion
other depth cues your brain can use.

	3D isn't just whatever a book tells you; it's psychological, too,
and as such it's tricky stuff.  What looks good to one person could look
completely wrong to someone else.  That's probably why the asteroid
searching method didn't quite work for you.  Of course, bad 3D (like the
StuporBowl ad) will always look bad.

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Leo L. Schwab -- The Guy in The Cape	INET: well!ewhac@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU
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