Question

In a darkened room, why is it a good idea to look for something by paying attention to what isn’t straight in front of you? Explain in terms of the retina.

Is this based on the peripheral retina?

Answer 1

Yes, this is based on peripheral vision.

Peripheral vision allows better vision at night, rather than looking straight at a thing. Peripheral vision is when a person would be looking at things through the corner of eyes. This is when people would be viewing things from out of the gaze’s center. During the day, the major part of vision occurs through the center where there is presence of dense cones. Thus part is referred to as the fovea. The detail observed in colour is because of fovea.

At night, there is less usage of the cones. Rather, the maximum work is by the rods. Rods are present in the periphery of the eyes. As a result of which, when we look through the corner of the eyes, we would be able to identify things in a better manner. This is also referred to as dark adaptation.