The World of Senses: Seeing - Decoding the Chaos (16/28)

The World of Senses: Seeing - Decoding the Chaos (16/28)

It is only through the senses that we experience our environment and are able to react to it. The four-part interdisciplinary series "The World of the Senses" runs the gamut from the latest findings in brain research to art, history and education, from the first development of the senses in a baby to their deterioration in old age.

Part 2 of this series is devoted to the most important of our senses: sight. Our eyes furnish 80 percent of the information we pick up about the world around us -the other senses all play a relatively minor role. Creating eyes was a  stroke of genius on the part of nature. An organism that can see enjoys a huge advantage over blind members of the same species. Eyes identify prey and enemies from a distance. If an adversary gets close enough to be smelled, touched or tasted, it is obviously too late to escape. But eyes and eyesight differ considerably across the animal kingdom. An eagle, for example, needs a much keener eye than a mole. The organ of vision needs to be tailored to the needs of each species.

English version: 26min