View Single Post
Old 13th February 2020, 06:07 PM   #10
Loss Leader
I would save the receptionist.
Moderator
 
Loss Leader's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Florida
Posts: 28,352
Originally Posted by theprestige View Post
Clouds appear to be parallel to a flat earth, even in the distance. Why?

I assume the answer is that the human eye isn't calibrated to detect curvature at that scale. Nor even estimate distance.

It's worse than that. The human eye is curved, so everything projected onto the nerves gets curved. The brain can sort some of this out, based on how important it was to our survival as a species.

So, if you are standing on train tracks, looking straight down the track, the rails will appear to grow closer and meet in the far distance. We may insist that they're parallel to each other but only because: a) we know they are; and b) our experience has conferred on us the general understanding that lines like that are really parallel.

The ocean doesn't appear to fall away, nor do the clouds. They just eventually meet because that's how we perceive them, even though this is not reality.

This gives rise to all sorts of crazy optical illusions like that window thing that spins around and makes you question everything you think you know to the entryway in Willy Wonka that appears to be a long hallway and is just a little box with a tiny door.
__________________
I have the honor to be
Your Obdt. St

L. Leader
Loss Leader is offline   Quote this post in a PM   Nominate this post for this month's language award Copy a direct link to this post Reply With Quote Back to Top