Regarding fine-tuning the eyes, occasionally I’ve said stuff like, “The more you look for things, the more of them you find.” Of course, that sounds like a stupidly obvious tautology. But it really is the case that our brains have a marvelous pattern-recognition feature. In one instance, I was on a little tour looking for worked flint (i.e., arrowheads). I’m not seeing anything while the people around me are seeing many. Then all of a sudden it clicked. Of course, that applies to plant and animal species, too.
Every time I’ve gone fossil hunting, it’s the same experience. At first you see nothing but rocks & dirt, and then after finding a few fossils, it suddenly clicks, and you look around and realize you’re in a regular graveyard of bone fragments. It happened to me in the John Day fossil beds, suddenly seeing all the small rodent bones everywhere, and it happened in Delta, Utah when I finally realized that every rock was full of trilobites.
Looks like something there in the middle of the photo, but mostly, nope.
I’m older, my eyesight isn’t good, and I’m not trained for this. Much more useful to me is the ability to spot ants on my kitchen counter, picking them out against a background of dark flecks in the design and spilled coffee grounds. When they feel vibrations, they scuttle about.
My vision is based on movement, like the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park.
Reginald Selkirksays
@%: A long time ago in a grad school far far way, I lived in an apartment in which I became hyper-tuned to spotting cockroaches. Glad to be out of that situation.
birgerjohanssonsays
I see something that I am fairly certain might be the abdomen and maybe structures that are legs but only one I am certain of.
The eye starts seeing too many patterns. Looking for “eyes” is confusing, now I spot possible eyes all over. And roughly linear structures that could be legs.
birgerjohanssonsays
The four symmetrical dots below what I think is an abdomen are just a bit too symetrical compared to all the other potential “eyes”.
But I started seeing legs all over the place.
birgerjohanssonsays
Pareidola is ruining my quest, I see limbs and eyes everywhere.
StevoRsays
Reminds me of the Shadows in Babylon 5.See here Very nicley camouflaged indeed albeit I did manage to spot it.
wonderpants says
Just seen it. Not easy when you’re peering at a low res pic on your phone!
Some impressive camouflage going on there though.
Reginald Selkirk says
Second hint: people photographing something tend to put it in the center of the frame.
ahcuah says
Regarding fine-tuning the eyes, occasionally I’ve said stuff like, “The more you look for things, the more of them you find.” Of course, that sounds like a stupidly obvious tautology. But it really is the case that our brains have a marvelous pattern-recognition feature. In one instance, I was on a little tour looking for worked flint (i.e., arrowheads). I’m not seeing anything while the people around me are seeing many. Then all of a sudden it clicked. Of course, that applies to plant and animal species, too.
PZ Myers says
Every time I’ve gone fossil hunting, it’s the same experience. At first you see nothing but rocks & dirt, and then after finding a few fossils, it suddenly clicks, and you look around and realize you’re in a regular graveyard of bone fragments. It happened to me in the John Day fossil beds, suddenly seeing all the small rodent bones everywhere, and it happened in Delta, Utah when I finally realized that every rock was full of trilobites.
feralboy12 says
Looks like something there in the middle of the photo, but mostly, nope.
I’m older, my eyesight isn’t good, and I’m not trained for this. Much more useful to me is the ability to spot ants on my kitchen counter, picking them out against a background of dark flecks in the design and spilled coffee grounds. When they feel vibrations, they scuttle about.
My vision is based on movement, like the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park.
Reginald Selkirk says
@%: A long time ago in a grad school far far way, I lived in an apartment in which I became hyper-tuned to spotting cockroaches. Glad to be out of that situation.
birgerjohansson says
I see something that I am fairly certain might be the abdomen and maybe structures that are legs but only one I am certain of.
The eye starts seeing too many patterns. Looking for “eyes” is confusing, now I spot possible eyes all over. And roughly linear structures that could be legs.
birgerjohansson says
The four symmetrical dots below what I think is an abdomen are just a bit too symetrical compared to all the other potential “eyes”.
But I started seeing legs all over the place.
birgerjohansson says
Pareidola is ruining my quest, I see limbs and eyes everywhere.
StevoR says
Reminds me of the Shadows in Babylon 5. See here Very nicley camouflaged indeed albeit I did manage to spot it.