pupils
rallain | April 12, 2010This was a great question. When you come inside after playing in the sunny outside, why is it so dark?
Simple answer: because your eyes are smart. When you are outside, there is a lot of light. Really, it is too much light. To compensate for this, your pupils (the part of your eye that light goes through) closes some. And then, when you go back inside your pupils are still small. Inside (even with the lights on) is not nearly as bright as outside. Not enough light is getting through your pupils and so everything looks "dark".
Here is a simple demo. While inside, take a flashlight (not…
neurophilosophy | February 18, 2010WHEN it comes to making decisions, timing can be everything, but it is often beneficial to conceal the decision that has been made. Take a game of poker, for instance: during each round, the player has to decide whether to bet, raise the stakes, or fold, depending on the hand they have been dealt. A good player will have perfected his "poker face", the blank expression which conceals the emotions he feels and the decisions he makes from the other players sitting at the table.
Increasing numbers of researchers are using brain scanning techniques to perform what is commonly referred to as "…