Blind Spot Demonstration

1. You will be using the figure below of an "X" and a dot to do this
experiment. Hold this page up so that the "X" is about two feet
away from your right eye.

2. With your left eye firmly closed, stare at the "X" with your right
eye. You should be able to see the dot off to the right in your
peripheral vision, although you are not staring at it.

3. As you continue staring at the "X", slowly move the page closer to
your eye. At some point, the dot in your peripheral vision will
completely disappear. If you continue to move the page still
closer to your eye, the dot will reappear again.

4. If you wish to perform this experiment with the left eye, you
must turn the page upside down, so that the dot is to the left side
of the "X". The experiment is then conducted in the same way,
except that the right eye is held closed and you will stare at the
"X" with your left eye while observing the dot off to the left in
your peripheral vision.

Question: Explain why the dot disappears and then reappears as you move the
paper closer to your eye. Your answer should include information about the
anatomy of the eye/retina and the location on the retina where light strikes both
when you can see the dot and when you cannot see the dot.

The dot disappears and then reappears because of the location of the dot on the
retina. The dot falls outside the fovea, which is responsible for clear vision and
contains cone cells. Rod cells detect light and motion so as a result, it appears
blurry. As the paper is moved closer, the dot reappears because it moves back into
the fovea, which allows cone cells to provide clear vision.