The Eye
A Very Short Introduction
Published on 29. May 2014
Book
Paperback/Softback
128 pages
978-0-19-968030-6 (ISBN)
Description
The eye is one of the most remarkable achievements of evolution, and has evolved up to 40 times in different parts of the animal kingdom. In humans, vision is the most important sense, and much of the brain is given over to the processing of visual information.
In this Very Short Introduction, Michael Land describes the evolution of vision and the variety of eyes found in both humans and animals. He explores the evolution of colour vision in primates and the workings of the human eye, to consider how that contributes to our visual ability. He explains how we see in three dimensions and the basic principles of visual perception, including our impressive capacity for pattern recognition and the ability of vision to guide action.
ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
In this Very Short Introduction, Michael Land describes the evolution of vision and the variety of eyes found in both humans and animals. He explores the evolution of colour vision in primates and the workings of the human eye, to consider how that contributes to our visual ability. He explains how we see in three dimensions and the basic principles of visual perception, including our impressive capacity for pattern recognition and the ability of vision to guide action.
ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Reviews / Votes
For anyone who would like to know more about the workings of the eye and how the brain interprets images, this book is an excellent introductory text. * Amanda Hardy, The Biologist * very informative read * The Biologist *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Illustrations
Approximately 30 black and white illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 173 mm
Width: 113 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
101 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-968030-6 (9780199680306)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Person
Michael F. Land is Emeritus Professor of Neurobiology at the University of Sussex and is a world-renowned authority on animal vision. He co-authored the text Animal Eyes (OUP, 2002, 2nd edition 2012) with Dan-Eric Nilsson and another on human eye movements, Looking and Acting, with Ben Tatler (OUP, 2009). He is a Fellow of the Royal Society.
Content
1. The first eyes ; 2. Making better eyes ; 3. The human eye ; 4. The moving eye ; 5. The third dimension ; 6. Colour ; 7. Seeing and the brain ; References and further reading