Is this true?

Question

My little sister said she learned in science class that children up to 3 yrs old only see upside down is this true ? or does she need a better teacher?

Answer 1

ummmm, either the science teacher is mistaken/ misquoted, or your sister is having you on.

If children could only see upside down they would have no way of using any kind of visual focus or representation. They would not be able to stand up straight, nor would they be able to establish a shared focus on objects with adults. They would also then be majorly thrown out after the age of three when they started seeing things the right way way up, which is obviously not the case (they would be majorly disoriented and not know here from there, let alone up from down!).

Maybe there has been some confusion over the fact that objects in one's visual field are in fact presented upside down onto the optic nerve receptors once passing through the eye's lens before being processed in the brain, but this is the case with everyone, not just for those under 3.

I cannot say for sure where this odd idea came from, but someone is having someone on, or they are majorly confused.

ps. I remember once learning in a psych lecture about an experiment that was done with cats, where they somehow managed to surround the cats (from birth) only with vertical lines (or was it all horizontal lines? I can't quite remember, the details are vague, but you get the general gist...). Once the cats were introduced into a 'normal' environment (ie. horizontal and vertical lines) they were seriously unable to cope. They kept on falling over sideways and just could not seem to adjust to the change in physical/visual environment. They did not seem to be able to recover from this. This is not QUITE what your question relates to, but you could see how a drastic change in the visuals of your environment (ie. points of reference) could be not only detrimental, but near impossible for the mind to comprehend and adjust to.

hope this helps :)