Guy Reams (00:00.622)
This is day 232, horse vision.
Guy Reams (00:06.958)
So humans have a vertical field of view of about 135 degrees vertically. This allows us to see above and below us. We have about 180 degrees horizontally, so we can see on each side of us in a pretty wide field of view. A few interesting concepts about human vision. Our central and primary vision is about five degrees.
And this is where we can get really detailed, right in front of us. The rest of our vision is peripheral, in which we do not see detail, but rather pick up mostly motion and spacing. As I type here, or as I read this, or as I go through this, I can see the monitor over here and the monitor over here. Now, I can't see the detail in those two monitors, but...
I can notice there's words there on both sides and I can see images and pictures and colors and some shapes. But for the most part, I cannot see detail unless I move my head over there and I take a second and I focus. What's interesting is that when I shift my focus, it takes a few seconds for the brain actually to bring all that detail to your forefront of your processing.
What's interesting is I'm staring forward here into the camera. On both sides, I can't actually see that detail, but my mind is making up what it thinks the detail looks like. That's what's really incredible is like way over here, I can see my bookshelf and way over here, I can see a printer and a water cooler. And my mind is making up what it thinks is there, even though it can actually see it, which is really fascinating if you think about it.
Human vision has evolved over time to keep us alive. It is a marvel of organic engineering, really, if you consider all that is happening. The two eyes have an overlapping field of view so that we can perceive depth. This is amazing, really. In fact, the brain has the ability to process those two views into a single binocular -type view with depth behind it.
Guy Reams (02:39.278)
This is all going to lead to my ultimate point here in a minute, but let's consider horses next. Horses also have an incredible vision mechanism. Most people do not realize that horses can see 360 degrees. They can see the world around them completely with only a small couple of blind spots. Most people do, soon as, like for example, if a horse runs through a field, they're seeing the entirety of the landscape around them.
Also, both eyes are monocular, meaning they can see completely separately than the other eye, unlike our eyes. It's wild to think about that their brains are wired to process each eye separately. They can also see depth, but only also in front of them, so they can see obstacles and danger. They actually have the ability to see depth a little bit better than us.
There are some other nuances. For example, they see color differently. They have better night vision. And the other important factor is their highly sensitive demotion. Just like humans, we're highly sensitive to demotion too and so are horses. A common practice is to use blinkers or blinders on a horse to narrow its field of view. Due to their sensitivity to motion and incredible field of view, people will put these on them to reduce their vision.
to what's in front of them instead of the entire world around them. This way they will not get distracted, spooked, or scared. This is important for horses that are pulling carts, passengers, and carriages. You cannot have a horse getting spooked while carrying passengers on their romantic ride through the city. This is all getting to a point. Although horses have different visions than humans do,
They both evolve for the same purpose, our survival. We both have an incredible ability to capture the world around us, process it, detect motion, process if something's a threat or not, or if something's interesting enough for us to pay attention to it. We are really good at this. Horses are probably better, but humans are quite capable as well. We may not be able to see at night, but we can see a wide spectrum of color,
Guy Reams (05:04.398)
and our focus capability is much more advanced than a horse.
The point is that you are no longer in a situation in life where you're roaming around the world in constant danger. Well, at least in my neighborhood you aren't. Most of us are in a safe, regulated environment where our relative safety is secure. However, we have the vision capability of other mammals, and that is highly tuned machine that is designed for us to get distracted so we can avoid harm.
Suppose we waltz into our office and sit in front of our multi -monitor computer setups, open up 200 Chrome tabs and various other applications. In that case, we are aligning this perfectly aligned vision machine to get distracted all day long. You will be constantly noticing things and your mind will kick in as you process these as harm or benefit.
We must use blinders or we are doomed to constant distraction. I do not mean horse blinders in the physical sense. I mean blinders in the symbolic sense. Removing all sources of distraction in our peripheral vision so that we can focus on the task at hand. Remove things that get in the way or pull your mind away from your focus. I mean, I love my multi -monitor setup.
But I'm telling you, if I have multiple windows open, especially of social feeds, forget it. Every 10 minutes, I'm getting distracted or even less. You simply cannot fight hundreds of thousands of genetic engineering, years of genetic engineering. If there's something on your screen or on your work environment that can distract you, you will get distracted. So my advice is put on your proverbial horse blinders,
Guy Reams (07:01.262)
and block everything else from grabbing your attention and just see how much more you can accomplish. wait a minute. What's this over here? another cool article on LinkedIn about how Nvidia is taking over the world. I got to stop this. I got to go check that out. Thank you.