If your eyes were to pop out of their sockets, and you pointed them at each other, what image would you see?

Question

I know it's bizarre, and I have no intention of carrying an experiment out, but it's something that has always puzzled me for some bizarre reason! Obviously, forget the pain factor involved, but if you were to take both eyes from their sockets and point them directly at each other, how would your brain interpret the image? Would you see two eyes, or because your brain assumes that both eyes are still looking forward as opposed to at each other, would the signal be generated as one eye? Does this make sense to anyone? Hope so, because I want this answered and don't really fancy conducting the experiment myself! Thank you.

Answer 1

Your eye(s)?

Answer 2

What a great question!! I'm almost finished with optometry school and I don't have the foggiest idea what would happen. You can think of the image seen by each eye as a picture taken with a camera. However, what we actually "see" in the sense of what we perceive is an overlapping of the two images from each eye.

Think of it this way. Take those two pictures and cut them vertically into very thin strips. Starting at one side alternately lay the strips down combining the two pictures into one (this essentially what the brain does with images from the two eyes). If the two pictures are the same, the image will look like whatever it is. However if the pictures differ, it will look like nonsense and the brain will interpret that nonsense as blur. So I'd guess that if you did this experiment, you would see one clear eye since the brain would interpret the two eyes as the same eye, but the background would be different in both images and the brain would be unable to combine the backgrounds so they would appear blurry.

Fun question, i enjoyed thinking through it.

Answer 3

You could actually conduct a similation of this experiment yourself. Take a piece of paper and fold it in half and then fold it into quarters. When you look at the end of the paper you should see a "W." When you put the W down the two outside folds will want to lay flat and the two inside will stand up, meeting at the top. Draw an eyeball on each of the outside folds. Now take the fold at the center and place it on the bridge of your nose. Notice that each one of your eyes sees a drawing of an eye. Therefore, if you pulled your eyes out and pointed them at one another, you'd see two eyes. Each eye would see an eye.

Answer 4

It makes allot of sense to me! Its very interesting! So,

YOU WOULD SEE NOTHING!
As soon as you take your eyes out, all the connexions to your brain would be ripped off, so you would be blind to see anything!

If that WERE NOT a consideration, but the nervous connexions to your brain where elastic and long enough to do what you describe, YOU WOULD SEE NOTHING! Because the brain gets images from the eyes only when those are reflected on the back of your eyes holes.

If that WERE NOT a consideration neither, but the nervous connexions to your brain where elastic and long enough to do what you describe and also you take your eyes out with their sockets, then your brain would get the two images (one from each eye) one over the other one, as if they were two ghost images, just like you do when you cross your eyes to see your nose and it seems it disappears and everything else is. If both eyes were exactly the same (the human body looks symmetric but it is not perfect) you would see an eye ball on a blurred background, or you would see clearly only the exact same thing on both eyes and the rest would be blurred.

Answer 5

People have a dominant eye - any eye that really focuses on an object while the other eye "assists." So, i think it is reasonable to believe that we would see our non-dominant eye - unless you really concentrated on seeing the other eye.

But either way, the image would most likely be very blurry because our brains are not wired to look at different object with each eye.

Try crossing your eyes - the image is blurry.

Answer 6

I reckon there would be an image of both eyes, but the overall picture would be very distorted. Think about crossing your eyes, only far worse. The brain will try to overlap the images to make a 3d view, but it won't make much sense.

Answer 7

Hi,
This is an interesting question.You have popped out your 2 eyes out of their sockets, and pointed them directly at each other, how would your brain interpret the image: One eyeball would be looking directly into the other eyeball.( therefore,the signal would be definitely generated as one eye.)
I am glad you asked the question ,instead of conducting this experiment on your own!This is my answer,and i hope it is helpful to data to your experiment.
Good-luck,happy experimenting.I am giving you a thumbs up FYI.

Answer 8

I'm sure yu will only see eyeballs cause the eyes won't be looking at nothing else. I do not believe you can expermient this without some kind of help. This seems like a dangerous task.

Answer 9

I even have had distinctive eye operations to spectacular squints in the two eyes. The final 3 gadgets of ops have been accomplished below community anaesthetic. and that they did circulate one eye out of its socket, with the aid of some millimetres. i could no longer see something, notwithstanding, as my student have been dilated with atropine. So, specific it is - and is carried out - and that i believe James, you are able to no longer see.

Answer 10

u wouldn't see any image... ur eyes are out of ur orbits, and ur blind. besides, u can't have an image, bcz the eyes are not in their place 4 the brain to process teh image 4 u to see....

so that answers it

*don't try this at home:P*

Answer 11

If your eyes popped out of your head,, they would not see anything! They would be dead matter without a blood flow and nerve links to the body.