Spyke

The indistinguishability of dark events from photon responses supports this explanation because rhodopsin is at the input of the transduction chain. On the other hand, processes such as the spontaneous release of neurotransmitters cannot be completely ruled out.

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sbeakreply
sopuli.xyz

So it's like when a camera doesn't have enough light to properly take a photo, producing a lot of grain. Like when you have a high ISO when taking a photo/video in a dark room, it looks very grainy. I guess the eye is still adjusting its "exposure" if you see some of this graininess in the dark (or when you close your eyes?)

11

the brain is always trying to find pattern in incomplete data. one of the explanations i have seen is that when our ancestors were sitting around the fire, those who saw the tiger or something lurking in the dark had better chance to pass their genes than those who didn't.

it is why we are seeing patterns in clouds and random geometrical shapes on walls and stuff like that.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophenia

14

Idk what piss poor model you guys are, but for me is sneeze & fart, much easier imo.

11

They also mention it on the wiki page but I could see fractals and different patterns when I closed my eyes while on shrooms.

2
aussie.zone

I see a little “DVD” logo zipping around that changes colour when it bounces off the periphery of my vision.

36

This, but there's paddles on either end that hit the logo back and forth.

And I never seem to win

2

If you really wanna blow your mind and prove it

You can also see them by holding a (not too bright) flashlight against your cheekbone and pointing the beam at your eye. The light needs to come from right below and you might need to move it around a little until you get the angle just right.

7
madjoreply
feddit.nl

For that edit you now have to breath manually!

2

Or "upgrade" to digital, the downside to that is that you either have vision or no vision at all if reception is kinda weak.

1
sh.itjust.works

This is just the result of neurons firing and chemical reactions taking place, and it's normal. Personally, for me it depends on my state of mind when I try to sleep. When agitated, I see noise like in your picture. When calm, I see flat, colorful shapes with soft edges that float around and change shape more or less rapidly (kind of like a lava lamp).

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Cypressreply
lemmy.zip

Ohhh yeahhhh the lava lamp like ones are cool. Sometimes vague impressions of cyan and red, sometimes propagating in waves. I'm so glad other people are describing it!

6

I also find them really helpful for falling asleep. Sometimes when I feel stressed and see mostly noise, I'll try to spot the color shapes and focus on them. It's kind of meditative and helps me fall asleep faster.

2

Mine can vary wildly depending on what kind and the quantity of psychoactive substance I've taken.

4

Seconding this. It's not incredibly common but it's not incredibly uncommon. Research shows that most people who have it don't notice it until it's pointed out. Drugs and stress tend to exacerbate the effect as well.

9

Visual snow is when you see it with eyes open afaik. But yea, still not terribly abnormal on its own. Visual snow syndrome is a thing though, but it's more than just seeing an abnormal amount of visual snow (the normal amount seems to be when looking at unicolored surfaces and in dim light).

6
lemmy.world

Better than seeing weird letters and 80 style colored geometric shape sliding around.

27

I only get patterns (usually floral-ish) if I press my eyes a little. You guys are getting them for free?!

2

Yes, and if you GENTLY press on your eyelids you can make other colors happen.

Also if you stare at a clear sky, NOT AT THE SUN, or at a bluish wall, you may see little swirly things, it's the white blood cells in your retinas swimming around.

(Blue field entoptic phenomenon - Wikipedia https://share.google/MveakONY2KB3QXUUh)

21
lemmy.zip

I see pulsing waves of color, even in pitch black rooms. When I was little they were bright as fireworks, now, depending on the night they're either just vaguely waves of purple, grey, and blue or sometimes electric blue and white.

21

Oh yeah, those things, I get them too sometimes. I always thought they looked like one of those super old Mac screensavers. (I can’t find a picture, but maybe someone here knows the one I mean.)

3

LOL, that's his whole schtick for nile blue :)

The first time I saw the reaction, I was shocked it's so close to my closed eye hallucinations

1

Purple, green, pinks and oranges (that's the blood in my eyelids I think). If I rub my eyes, the pixellated screensavers get wild, which I think means you're not supposed to do that.

17
lemmy.world

I always assumed everyone saw it. I'm not special after all.

Though mine is gray, definitely not purple.

16

i had it intensely when i also developed other neurological issues like peripheral neuropaty, and palinopsia(afterimage)although symptom was temporary. now its more of a background if i concentrate hard enough i see snow. i had also had pretty bad RLS for several weeks.

2

That shade of purple seems a bit off, but you might see colours depending on the light going through your eyelids

6
DrWormreply
lemmy.world

I have this.... I just thought this was normal vision. I hate my eyes 😔

6

So did we all, friend. You're one of the tv static people now. Welcome

6

I have it. I'm used to it. It's not as if I can do something about it.

1
lemmy.ca

What you're seeing is the inner workings of the holographic universe we inhabit. Your brain interprets the signal as static.

/Obviously I'm not serious....

10
lemmy.world

But you're right.

Only the hologram is produced by the nervous system. Not God's super computer or whatever.

1
lemmy.ca

I mean, I guess that's true in a peculirar sort of way in which nothing really exists outside of our perception of it.

What I mean by that is that whatever we see, hear, taste, etc... is merely neurons firing in our brain, processing a signal that it receives. So if we're looking at a tree for example; that tree is just light/energy waves vibrating on a specific frequency. It's only when it hits our optic nerve and travels to our brain that it's translating into something that we call a "tree".

So when the eyes are closed, the random interference pattern could indeed be interpreted as you say. Goog catch. Kind of makes you wonder.

1

Yeah there's a term for it in Hinduism, Maya.

I've also spent a lot of time and study with Buddhism. Explored a lot of mind altering drugs.

Perception is a map of the territory influenced by karma (evolution and personal experience) In constant feedback with the territory, of course.

But the map edits itself out. Because when a tiger appears on the map we need to run, not debate rather or not there's really a tiger.

1

Yes. I "see" it too but can unsee it quite easily. I think it's more apparent in unlit environments.

10

Hm okay. I'll check again in six months when Belgium isn't a depressing film Noir scene straight from Max Payne 1 & 2.

5

It happens to me at night because not only does it have to be quite dark, I audio need to be dork dark adapted. Your pupil is part of your dark adaption and widens in a mater of seconds. However, your receptors also get doped with rhodopsin, which takes up to 20 minutes to full replenish (blue/uv light bleachers rhodopsin). It's like being able to lower the F-stop on a camera like normal, but taking 20 minutes to raise the ISO

2
aussie.zone

Does anyone else see 'the ring' when you rub your eyes and then just look at the canvas of your eyelids?

8
orizereply
lemmy.dbzer0.com

Yes. Its feedback of the pressure upon your eye. Your brain needs to interpret but nerves will be wonky when eyeball is pushed.

3

the void circle calls to me with its radiance

i will cherish its gaze as my body liquifies

and my mind authors an analgesic static

2

Yeah, though mine doesn't flicker as fast - it kinda moves in slow waves.

8
lemmy.world

I can make static if I squeeze my eyes very tightly, sometimes spots. No one i asked when I was little had the same results. Haven't thought about it in a long time.

8
lemmy.nz

probably caused by some small amount of light getting through your eyelids , or random noise in your nerves

6
Venat0rreply
lemmy.world

could also be cosmic background radiation exciting the rods and cones inside your eyes

1

or maybe it's black body radiation coming from your own cells inside your eyes

1
lemmy.world

I see brown and tan herringbone with paisley patterns blooming through it.

5
lemmy.world

everyone says this is normal but i've never seen it. am i cooked

4

Yes, but its not purple, its just like as if your soul was drifting through the universe and you see tiny dot-sized stars from afar.

Sometimes I couldn't sleep and the lights are off and there is a tiny bit of ambient light outside, and I just open my eyes and stare at the ceiling and also notice a sort of static like that, but with a brighter background light.

3
lemmy.world

My wife and I have never experienced this. 🤷

Very interesting though.

3

I'm glad to see most people replying yes, I was like "wait, is it not?". The only time I don't see noise is when I look at flat colors on a screen and I'm not a fan.

3

It is hard to know exactly what we see because our brain processes it so much and then we have to put it into words and we could easily be describing different experiences the same way or same experiences differently.

I would guess any light receptor produces noise whether that is a few stray protons or just thermal chemical/electrical processes. I would think for most people the brain is receiving noise very much like this but how they experience it depends on how it is processed. Unless there is some after image from recently staring at something bright, when my eyes are shut my brain gives me an impression of nothing which is almost certainly not what my retina is detecting.

3
lemmy.world

Sure is for me, especially in the dark

But if I focus I can see it everywhere

2

it became more pronounced around the time i developed peripheral neuropathy for a while, and RLS like 10 years ago. then its still there but its less severe than it was before.

1

Yes. And if you want to see something really cool, take a look at a clear blue sky. You'll notice tiny dots of lighter color moving quickly following constant short trajectories. These are your own leucocytes moving through the capilars right in front of your retina. The brain compensates the darker color of the predominant red blood cells, so you can't see the capilars, but the white blood cells are translucent, so they appear as lighter dots!

2

Mine varies from the static to a fine lattice grid that is constantly changing.

2
lemmy.world

Aight! I want to heart from people thinking this is normal, or not, and if you can actually see pictures in your inner space. I feel a doctoral dissertation could be written here.

1

I feel a doctoral dissertation could be written here.

i feel you may be trying to break into open doors.

1

a small proportion of people have this, i have it mildly as well. my opthamologist at the time said it wasnt common and he only knew a teen that had it. its mostly because of the part of yuor brain thats active. its a wierd neurological thing. i suspect mines was due to diphenhydramine at the time, plus i had undaignosed spinal issue which would cause neurological/neuropathy in my limbs. i think the DPH made it more pronounced, as bringing it from the background.

its something having do with your lingual gyrus that is hyperactive(correlation)

1