Observation Paper

Observation
Name:
Institution:
Course:
Date:
Description
I have always had a keen interest in the way the brain and the eyes communicate. From a young it was always fascinating how we perceive the environment around us and how accurate the images that we see are. I have always enjoyed outdoor expeditions where I get to enjoy the wonders of nature in all its beauty and splendor. Nature provides all the visual cues of art and science that any would even want to encounter and more. As such, much of my childhood was riddled with the thoughts of the illusions that could be in the environment which we interact with but really never understand because they are not what they seem but rather different from what we perceive, relative to the limitation of the eye or the interpretation of the brain. My first encounter with an optical illusion was at the age of 10 on a family trip to the Niagara Falls.
I happened to be really fascinated with falls, that I got lost in the moment enjoying the water splash down the fall. When I looked away I noticed that the rocks and the vegetation just adjacent to the water fall were moving in the opposite direction. In that moment I shook my head fearing that I was dizzying and so I crouched down to brace the fall. Instead, the momentous illusion cleared after someone called from behind. At the time it was astonishing but I rarely thought of it as illusion but rather, a health issues. Last summer, I had the same experience after a long while and remembered my first encounter. This time round, I was able to recreate the phenomenon by looking at the fall and then immediately looking at the vegetation at fall we had visited with friends on a road trip.
Verification of the illusion
For quite some time I tried to understand why this way the case as it seemed completely bizarre. However, it also came to mind that it could be a very interesting paper and one that could certainly help the class learn a lot about the way the eyes and the brain communicate and the various ways that the two can easily experience momentary lapses. Whenever I could look at the waterfall for some time and then look at the adjacent vegetation on the same slopes, they would seem to be flowing in the opposite direction as the waterfall. For quite some time I tried to recreate the scenario even trying the opposite sequence. To make sure that I was not the only one that could experience the phenomenon, I called a few of my friends who were nearby to try it out and they all were fascinated at the effects the fall played on the perception of motion and direction. They all agreed that they could see the rest of the ground next to the falls would go up in an opposing direction and motion as the falls. This confirmed that, what I had experienced years earlier was not out of the ordinary and that I was not having any form medical condition relative to my vision.
Interpretation
I think that this can further shed light on the elements of the brain and how it interprets images or movement. Every time that I would look at the water fall for a short period and looked at the vegetation right next to the fall, the effect did not come on. Everything seemed to be in it place and more importantly the effects of motion and distort...