I think it makes sense that long-distance vision would come first in mammalian evolution for some species, but perhaps not others. For herding herbivores, the first priority for survival would be to spot distant predators for escape and evasion purposes. Short-distance vision would have come after primates evolved grasping fingers and opposable thumbs, giving them the ability to hold and inspect items.
It probably depends quite a bit on the type of mammal (predator or prey). Predators that rely on stealth (like cats) might evolve better vision within 8 meters so they can have mid-range attack accuracy. I would imagine it's more important for ranging mammals like antelope to have better long-distance sight for spotting predators. --------- Matt Taylor OS Community Flag-Bearer Numenta On Thu, Jan 2, 2014 at 12:18 PM, Dennis Stark <[email protected]> wrote: > I've recently read that cats don't see well beyond the distance of 8 meters. > Wouldn't the distance vision evolve rather then the "reading" vision? From > evolution perspective it sounds more likely, as people were gatherers and > needed to see things up close rather then in the distance. > > On Jan 2, 2014, at 11:16 AM, Fergal Byrne <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Hi Brev, > > It's likely the 4x5" size came from the fact that it fits the hand rather > than the size of V1. The first photos were made directly from the > photographic plate, and the cameras were built around the size of the > plates. When projection was introduced, the plates (and more importantly the > cameras) could become smaller, until 35mm became the default size, good > enough for photos and movies, and highly portable. "Real" photographers > settled on medium-format cameras, of which 4x5 is a favourite. One big > advantage of medium-format is that a contact print of an image can be cut > out and serves as a good photo in its own right. You can make contact prints > without a darkroom or projector equipment. > > I believe the human visual system is particularly tuned to looking at things > you can hold in your hand. As I know from recently getting glasses, we have > two modes of vision, distance and "reading". If you still have your reading > eyesight, you should be able to make out microscopic details in the ridges > of your fingertips. Reading vision probably evolved so that we could make > maximum use of our ability to hold and manipulate objects in the palm of our > hands, and examine them at very close range. It's possible that our large V1 > also evolved to match this use of vision, which is normally unavailable to > mammals. > > Regards > > Fergal Byrne > > > > > On Thu, Jan 2, 2014 at 5:00 PM, Jeff Hawkins <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> Brev, >> >> I think that is probably a coincidence. Also, it isn’t clear to me how a >> 4x5 image is ideal for a human eye, wouldn’t it depend on how far the image >> is from the eye? >> >> >> >> An amazing fact that I often mention is that in humans with normal vision >> the areal size of V1 can vary by a factor of 3! Several sources have >> reported this. Apparently people with large V1s have somewhat higher visual >> acuity but vision is normal in all. >> >> >> >> Jef >> >> >> >> From: nupic [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Brev >> Patterson >> Sent: Tuesday, December 31, 2013 9:51 AM >> To: NuPIC general mailing list. >> Subject: [nupic-discuss] V1 physical size >> >> >> >> Hi all, >> >> >> >> Quick random question: >> >> >> >> In On Intelligence, Jeff mentions that V1 is roughly the physical size of >> a US Passport (3.5" x 5") >> >> >> >> I've heard that in Professional Photography, the 4" x 5" film slide or >> negative is known as the "ideal" resolution for the human eye. >> >> >> >> Just curious if there might be any relation between the sizes? >> >> >> >> Thanks, >> >> Brev >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> nupic mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://lists.numenta.org/mailman/listinfo/nupic_lists.numenta.org >> > > > > -- > > Fergal Byrne, Brenter IT > > http://inbits.com - Better Living through Thoughtful Technology > > e:[email protected] t:+353 83 4214179 > Formerly of Adnet [email protected] http://www.adnet.ie > _______________________________________________ > nupic mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.numenta.org/mailman/listinfo/nupic_lists.numenta.org > > > > _______________________________________________ > nupic mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.numenta.org/mailman/listinfo/nupic_lists.numenta.org > _______________________________________________ nupic mailing list [email protected] http://lists.numenta.org/mailman/listinfo/nupic_lists.numenta.org
