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Book of Optics: The Intromission Theory of Vision

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Book of Optics: The Intromission Theory of Vision

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Ibn al-Haytham (965–1040) was a prominent Arab scientist during the Islamic Golden Age who published the "Book of Optics." The "Book of Optics" challenged the prevailing theory on how visual perception formed, specifically, the emission theory¹. The emission theory proposed that visual perception was the product of light exiting the eye. Ibn al-Haytham theorized that light entered the eye instead and used empirical and experimental methods to support his hypothesis. Within the "Book of Optics," Ibn al-Haytham detailed his experiments and observations extensively, emphasizing the role of the scientific method in developing his intromission theory¹. In one of his most significant experiments, Ibn al-Haytham observed the formation of an inverted image in a dark room through a small hole—which showed light traveled in a straight line and formed an image on the surface opposite of the small hole. He also studied how light moved through different media, initiating discourse about light refraction¹.

Work Cited: (1)

Boudrioua, A., Rashed, R., & Vasudevan, L. (Eds.). (2018). Light-Based Science: Technology and Sustainable Development: The Legacy of Ibn al-Haytham. CRC Press.

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In the medieval period, the transition of knowledge from the Islamic Golden Age to Europe experienced a crucial turning point as Albert the Great resolutely refuted the emission theory of vision. Albert's rejection of the idea that light emits from the eyes, influenced by Ibn al-Haytham's intromission theory, played a pivotal role in this cross-regional interchange. His stance not only infused Islamic scientific contributions into European thought but also sparked a shift towards a more empirical approach to understanding vision. This decisive move, incorporating insights from Ibn al-Haytham and embracing empirical methodologies, significantly fueled the advancement and refinement of the intromission theory in Europe. The Renaissance, exemplified by figures like Leonardo da Vinci, seamlessly continued and amplified this trajectory, contributing to the evolving empirical understanding of light behavior over centuries. These foundational developments laid the groundwork for Gullstrand's Nobel-worthy contributions in the field of optics.¹

Works Cited: (1)

Akdogan, C. (1984). AVICENNA AND ALBERT’S REFUTATION OF THE EXTRAMISSION THEORY OF VISION. Islamic Studies, 23(3), 151–157. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20847267

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Leonardo da Vinci: Anatomical Sketches and Insights Into the Behavior of Light

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Leonardo da Vinci: Anatomical Sketches and Insights Into the Behavior of Light

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Leonardo Da Vinci (1452–1519), an Italian artist, advanced optical research through his multidisciplinary approach to scientific inquiry¹. Leonardo Da Vinci's empirical methodology to drawing and observation, as seen in his anatomical sketches and paintings, furthered scientific understanding on the behavior of light². In his paintings, Da Vinci used varying compositions and light intensities to realistically capture different features of light refraction and reflection. Da Vinci's striking intuitive understanding on the relationship between light and shadow, across varying perspectives and medias, added great nuance to our understanding of the components of visual perception².

Work Cited: (1)

https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/leon/hd_leon.htm

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Kemp, M. (2006). Leonardo da Vinci: The Marvelous Works of Nature and Man. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

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Johannes Kepler: Decoding of Inverse Retinal Images

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Johannes Kepler: Decoding of Inverse Retinal Images

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Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) was a German mathematician and scientist who was vital to the early scientific revolution¹. While earlier thinkers, including Ibn al-Haytham, understood that if light entered a small hole, an inverted image would form on the opposite surface, the physical components responsible for light transmission were undefined². Johannes Kepler's insights were significant as they offered a more nuanced understanding of how this inverted image formed and the role of the retina, cornea, and lens in this process³. According to Kepler, the role of the cornea and lens was to refract light, and the surface onto which light was consequently focused was the retina. This theory introduced by Kepler filled in many gaps in our understanding of the formation of the inverted retinal image³.

Work Cited: (1)

https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Kepler/

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Boudrioua, A., Rashed, R., & Vasudevan, L. (Eds.). (2018). Light-Based Science: Technology and Sustainable Development: The Legacy of Ibn al-Haytham. CRC Press.

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Smith, A. M. (2022, November). Optics to the Time of Kepler. Encyclopedia of the History of Science. https://doi.org/10.34758/9482-n985

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René Descartes: Mechanical Approach to Sensory Transduction

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René Descartes: Mechanical Approach to Sensory Transduction

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René Descartes (1596–1650) was a prominent scientific figure in the 17th century. Descartes made groundbreaking advancements in optics by employing empirical experiments and applied mathematical models, as seen in his book, "Dioptrics," which distinguished his work from other mechanistic models of the intromission theory². Descartes also described how images form on the retina and travel to the central nervous system, forming perceptions, suggesting that these images were not perfect carbon copies of the objects they represented¹. According to Descartes, light's impact on perception stemmed from its ability to activate the eyes mechanically—Descartes's mechanical approach to the intromission theory allowed for further investigation of the physiology behind this process³. Additionally, Descartes also related his findings on lenses to his discoveries in telescopes, laying the groundwork for glasses and other vision-improving tools¹.

Work cited: (1)

Johnson, R. (2018). The Cartesian Eye Without Organs: The Shaping of Subjectivity in Descartes’s Optics. Philosophy & Rhetoric, 51(1), 73–90. https://doi.org/10.5325/philrhet.51.1.0073

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Goulding R. (2022). The Harvest of Optics: Descartes, Mydorge, and their paths to a theory of refraction. Annals of science, 79(2), 164–214. https://doi.org/10.1080/00033790.2022.2026479

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A. Mark Smith, "Optics to the Time of Kepler," Encyclopedia of the History of Science (November 2022), accessed 25 January 2024. https://doi.org/10.34758/9482-n985.

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Advancements in Optics 2022: Discovery of a Novel Retinal Cell Subtype

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Advancements in Optics 2022: Discovery of a Novel Retinal Cell Subtype

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In the 2022 study, "Genetic Dissection of a New Amacrine Cell Type Shaping Object Motion Sensitivity in the Mouse Retina," researchers describe a newly discovered subtype of amacrine retinal cells known as CK2-AC1¹. This distinct amacrine cell exhibits unique inputs into bipolar cells, deviating from traditional "on" and "off" activation patterns. The study's findings offer valuable insights into the diversity of amacrine cells and their influence on visual pathways and downstream cells¹. This advancement significantly contributes to our understanding of retinal components, morphology, and organization, shedding light on their roles in the visual transduction mechanism¹. Understanding concepts such as intromission theory, light's interaction with the environment, color trichromatic theory, and the mechanics behind retinal processing is required for understanding the finer details of retinal circuits, such as for understanding the significance of specialized cells like CK2-AC1.

Works Cited: (1)

https://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2781988

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In his treatise on physiological optics, Hermann von Helmholtz (1821-1894) integrated the diverse findings of Ibn al-Haytham, Leonardo da Vinci, Albert the Great, Johannes Kepler, and René Descartes into a cohesive framework for understanding the big-scale picture of visual sensory transduction, which is essentially what a docent does¹. Given his expertise in the trichromatic theory of color vision and his multidisciplinary background as a physicist, philosopher, and physiologist, Hermann von Helmholtz is the ideal docent for this exhibit². The physiological lens he brings would capture the complexity and nuances of these fields better than any other discipline, making him uniquely qualified to contextualize these scientists' findings². Hermann von Helmholtz also advocated for applying classical mechanics in scientific inquiry, a perspective reflected in the exhibit through approaches such as mathematical modeling and empirical observations³.

Work Cited: (1)

https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2009-06315-000

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https://designblog.rietveldacademie.nl/?p=68381

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https://www.famousscientists.org/hermann-von-helmholtz/