The Fascinating Concept of "Seeing Nothing": Exploring the Absence of Visual Experience

The Complex Nature of Vision and the Absence of Visual Input

When you close your eyelids, your eyes are still working, but you are just seeing the absence of light (darkness), similar to being in a perfectly dark cave. The experience of not being able to see behind you is due to a lack of vision, not a lack of light. This means that you don't even see blackness, but rather there is no visual input at all.

If your eyes are scooped out, those spots will revert to having no visual input, similar to the bottom of your feet. Sight is a complex process, and the concept of not being able to see anything can be difficult to understand, especially for those who have been sighted their whole lives.

People who have been blind since birth have never seen anything at all, so it is inaccurate to say that they "see black" since they can't see anything. Closing one eye can help understand the concept of "seeing nothing" because the other eye sees black, while the closed eye sees nothing.

Someone who is blind in one eye can compare their seeing eye with their blind eye, and they describe the visual field of the blind eye as "nothing." When you get lost in a daydream, you are not consciously seeing anything, even though your eyes are open. It is similar to not having visual information provided by your eyes.

The absence of visual input after losing your eyes is comparable to trying to see with body parts that don't have the organs for it, like trying to see heat with bare eyes or detect magnetic fields like birds. Without functioning eyes, there is no such thing as electromagnetic radiation within the visible light spectrum.

The brain may create a phantom sensation of "seeing black" when someone who was once sighted loses their vision, as it tries to compensate for the loss. However, "seeing nothing" is not the same as "seeing darkness" because darkness implies the presence of light, whereas nothing means no visual input at all.

The concept of "seeing nothing" can be difficult to grasp because sighted people process their vision throughout their conscious lives. Blindness is not just a lack of light or the color black; it is the absence of visual information altogether.

The comparison of "seeing nothing" to trying to see out of your elbow helps some people understand the concept. The visual field of a blind eye is empty and devoid of any visual input. "Seeing nothing" is not a sensation that can be described as blackness or darkness, but rather a lack of any visual experience.

The brain may try to compensate for the loss of vision by creating the sensation of "seeing black," but this is not the same as actually perceiving darkness. The experience of "seeing nothing" is similar to when you close your eyes, but your eyes are still functioning, and you are not consciously aware of any visual information.

In conclusion, "seeing nothing" is a state where there is no visual input or conscious perception of any visual stimuli. It is a complex concept to understand, especially for those who have always had the gift of sight. By exploring the absence of visual experience, we gain a deeper understanding of the intricacies of the human visual system and the unique challenges faced by individuals with visual impairments.