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Unit 19: Biology Part 2 Page 107 of 137

What’s Happening: When your finger is far away, your eyes perceive it in
more or less the same place. This happens because the angle between your
left eye and your finger is not that different that the angle between your
finger and right eye. As your finger gets closer, the difference becomes
more significant. Your brain constantly uses this information to allow you to
detect depth, the key to seeing in three dimensions.

Experiment: Can You Believe Your Eyes?

Our brain is a remarkable organ that receives information from sense
organs, processes the information, and then sends out a message in
response. But what happens when the brain gets conflicting information?
That’s what this experiment is all about.

1. Take a look at
the chart. Say
the COLOR of
the word.
Don’t read the
word.

What’s Happening: It’s harder than it looks, isn’t it? The problem is that
our brain is getting a mixed message. The color of the word is one
message, but the word itself if another. Your brain can overcome this and

say the right color, but it requires more work simply looking at the sky and
saying it’s blue.

Experiment: Selective Listening

Have you ever been accused of having “selecting listening?” This term
refers to the idea that when your mom or dad tells you to clean your room,

you somehow can’t hear them, but when they ask if you want ice cream,
your ears work great. Is this a real, scientific thing? It turns out that there
actually is something going on your brain that makes your hearing selective.
Check it out!

1. Go to a noisy place where you’ll be surrounded by people. (A fast food
restaurant around lunchtime will work well.)

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