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Fixing My Gaze
- A Scientist's Journey Into Seeing in Three Dimensions
- Narrated by: Barbara Longo
- Length: 5 hrs and 13 mins
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Fixing My Gaze
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Summary
When neuroscientist Susan Barry was 50 years old, she took an unforgettable trip to Manhattan. As she emerged from the dim light of the subway into the sunshine, she saw a view of the city that she had witnessed many times in the past but now saw in an astonishingly new way. Skyscrapers on street corners appeared to loom out toward her like the bows of giant ships. Tree branches projected upward and outward, enclosing and commanding palpable volumes of space. Leaves created intricate mosaics in 3D. With each glance, she experienced the deliriously novel sense of immersion in a three dimensional world.
Barry had been cross-eyed and stereoblind since early infancy. After half a century of perceiving her surroundings as flat and compressed, on that day she was seeing Manhattan in stereo depth for first time in her life. As a neuroscientist, she understood just how extraordinary this transformation was, not only for herself but for the scientific understanding of the human brain. Scientists have long believed that the brain is malleable only during a critical period in early childhood. According to this theory, Barry's brain had organized itself when she was a baby to avoid double vision - and there was no way to rewire it as an adult. But Barry found an optometrist who prescribed a little-known program of vision therapy; after intensive training, Barry was ultimately able to accomplish what other scientists and even she herself had once considered impossible.
A revelatory account of the brain's capacity for change, Fixing My Gaze describes Barry's remarkable journey and celebrates the joyous pleasure of our senses.
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What listeners say about Fixing My Gaze
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Chantal
- 13-02-21
Fascinating and Thought Provoking
As someone who has always had 2D vision, I have always been certain that if it were possible to have my eyesight "fixed" so that I could have 3D vision, I wouldn't want it. This book was recommended by a friend and I was skeptical that whatever the situation, it couldn't possibly be relatable. People so often ask me "Well that must be weird, does the world just look like tv?" Well er yeah. Isn't it supposed to? I guess I've taken it for granted that 3D people can't understand my world and I can't understand theirs. But here's a story from someone who has experienced both and can describe the difference in a compelling way.
This book has helped me to understand how my brain compensates, so that I can drive safely. And why I'm so rubbish at badminton.But it has also got me thinking... what if? What if I could experience 3D vision? Maybe I really am missing out on something amazing. I never understood what the fuss was all about before and after 6 eye operations, I can't say I've been even remotely interested in exploring further.
But this book has given me a new perspective (pardon the pun). If the purpose of writing a book is to make people stop and consider something they previously completely dismissed out of hand, I can safely say this book has fulfilled that purpose, at least for me.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Mr. Leigh Griffiths
- 11-04-24
Gives insight into the possible rehabilitation of your eyesight
It is very repetitive. It tends to repeat our give lots of similar stories with not a lot of actual practical advise or tips
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