April '22

Imagine a world in which the human eye is incapable of distinguishing colours. Our lives would play out in drab grayscale, traffic lights would cause confusion, and coloured TV set sales would plummet. Did you visualise that? I share your horror. That is why we at the Fellowship repeatedly celebrate the human ability to discern colours. That is not the only human superpower, though.

Consider for a moment the ability to perceive depth, an ability enabled by the harmonious collaboration of a pair of eyes. We at the Fellowship worship pairs. Two eyes perceive the word from two different angles and the images that come from each one differ slightly. But our cranium can easily manage these disparate incoming stimuli and synthesize them into a 3-D image. We call this ability stereopsis, or perception of depth. If you thought only sound can be stereo then please do consider how boring each discotheque would be without our 3-D vision.

We must also mention another nuance. Binocular vision is not the only input source our eyes work with. Our brain also processes other stimuli, such as inclination, size, motion, and even colour. As a result, the brain can be meddled with and tricked by various optical illusions.

If, for instance, you stare intensively at your new socks, you might, within a few moments, find your newest model gaining depth. We did not want to overdo it with the illusions, though. You could perhaps end up thinking that the appeal of your newest sock addition is make-believe. But trust me, it is as real as my wish to you of a typically-stereo (but not stereotypical) colourful month of April. In all matters sock-related and otherwise.