| Chapter 8 "Getting Back to 3-D" To regain a
three-dimensional view of the world, Mr. Brady suggests two approaches: create relative
motion, or use the techniques used by artists to lend depth to a two-dimensional scene.
"In the absence of binocular vision, relative motion is going to be your prime
visual tool in the highly mobile world of driving, flying, boating, skiing, skating and
skin diving, and in occupations involving moving objects or vehicles. Knowledge of how to
create it when it doesn't occur by itself can hasten your return to your favorite sport or
the wheel of your car." (pg. 41)
"When viewing a stationary object at short range, one very effective way to
produce something akin to relative motion is to move your head quickly to one side. This
not only creates a slight shift of the object against its background (as did the
up-and-down head movement described earlier in this chapter), it also enables you to have
two slightly different views of the same subject in such rapid sequences that the brain
can interpret them much the same as it would interpret a double image produced by two
eyes." (pg. 43)
To regain a more 3-dimensional perspective, Mr. Brady suggests techniques used by Leonardo
da Vinci to add depth to his art:
- Objects in the foreground take up more of the window's space than objects of the same
size in the distance. Automobiles. which are fairly standardized in size, are a good gauge
of this. Leonardo calls this phenomenon"diminishing perspective."
- Colors are bolder and brighter in the foreground. In the distance, they become softer an
muted. By the same token, shadows of nearby objects are sharper and darker. The artist
calls this "color perspective."
- Finally, objects in the distance tend to blur, while those in the foreground are more
clearly defined--"vanishing perspective."
"These observations are as precious to the one-eyed person as they are to the
painter, for each of them can be translated into improved depth perception. It's a process
you can hasten by consciously applying your attention to it--and as a fringe benefit
you'll find the world a far more fascinating place to view." (pg. 44)
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