P3D Re: 2&1/2 D

[Larry Berlin <lberlin@xxxxxxxxx>]

>Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999
>From: John Toeppen <toeppen@xxxxxxxx>
>.....................
>It has been argued that stereophotography is 2 1/2 D.  It has even been
>said that we are not holographers.  I partially agree with the first and
>personally take exception to the second point.... and expect that others
>might too.

****  In real life a 3D tree grows, the sun shines, a shadow spills across
the ground.

The ground is flat so the shadow is flat. We observe the shadow and perceive
the tree, understanding the connection to 3Dness of the branchings traced on
the ground. Perhaps we could stand all day and study the changing of the
shadow, or record it and play it back at a higher speed...

Is this using 2D to perceive 3D? (in a sense?)

Our 3D perceptive vision begins with two image receptors. By definition,
each sees a 2D set of data. Differences between the two sets are integrated
deeply within the meaning-resolving cortex of the brain itself. The result
at the point where it counts, our consciousness, is fully 3D, and includes
time comparisons, scale filtering observations, depth details to the nth
degree, past memory referrals, stereophonic audio cues, tactile feedback of
touch and wind, olfactory content of the breezes, etc, ALL in the same
instant. Each instant flows continuously from the past, into the next moment.

Within the mind, all these things are connected to the same processes. Each
bit of information present carries it's own set of referrences and connected
information.

A 2D image can only approximate depth in the most obvious ways and cannot
actually reconstruct the depth since there is an incomplete visual set
present. That's where the second 2D image comes in. It's not the adding of
another 2D, it's ONLY purpose is to provide the same thing, but with a
difference. 3D spatial perception of the visual kind depends on
*difference*. The same is true for sound and hearing, for tactile skin
sensing, for smell and even for taste. Our perceptions are in many ways the
equivalent of difference engines.

So, is a stereo image pair only 21/2 D?

First of all, it's the ONLY method to provide the eye's with the needed
difference information so the brain can obtain a full surface reconstruction
of the scene. As soon as this complex structure can exist within the mind, a
host of additional related perceptions have stronger relational standing.
One enters the recreated image space within the mind, very similar to how
they might interact with the same scene, in the moment at which the image
was taken.

The fact that a stereo pair only encapsulates a single flash of a moment,
doesn't subtract a 1/2 D from the equation. A stereoscopic image pair is the
barest and most essential of circumstances for the perceptioin of 3D.
Foundationally important and profound. Stereo is in fact, 3D.

Only in a stereo 3D imaging space can you directly feed mental associations
to other thoughts and experiences within the mind. This is how we perceive
the world, with all the senses overlapping across hundreds and thousands of
brain cells simultaneously. Yes, the brain is adroit at attempting the same
thing from a 2D image, and with motion, a direct sense of depth is easily
synthesized. 

However, by combining stereoscopic imaging to any media presentation, you
multiply the effective sensory input by an enormous amount. The brain's
interpretation of whatever the content is greatly enhanced because the mind
can sense all those surfaces as well as see the effect of their presence
like a shadow on the ground...

Consider the Hypercube in 4D... stereo3D is to 4D what the shadow of a tree
is to the 3D reality of a tree. Only by viewing the shadows of a 4D realm
can we mentally and directly grasp the structures of that realm. See this URL:

http://www.sover.net/~manx/hyprcube.html

Only in stereo3D can you have a richly detailed and complex image existing
in 3D space, without confusing what's in front of or behind something else.
This greater level of observable unique detail combined with the idea of
seeing into other abstract realms and dimensions makes stereo3D THE
essential visual space for satisfactory interaction suitable to the
complexity of our world. 

Stereo photography is merely the open and inviting doorway to a vast new
communication space that mimicks and approximates the holographic mind.
Viewing a stereo pair literally paints that image to more of your mind than
otherwise possible... Mind paintings... Hmmmm...... 

See, you're more of an artist than you thought you were!



>.......................
>Stereo photography records what we need to see.  Two images, one for
>each eye.  Angle and color recorded, no phase requirements, no laser. 
>Impressive quality on a molecular level, resolution beyond what we
>normally need to see.  Not cheap, just great.  A personal indulgence. 
>An art, a science, a reason to go look at the world in search of neat
>stuff; eyecandy.

*****  Well said!!!


>.................
>I would love to see club's collections on the web.  I would like to see
>collections traded, as Dan and I did.  Then I would like to see these
>collections gathered and stamped out in volume.  Then I would like to
>see these sold to the masses so that they need not be ignorant (of eye
>stereo)any more....
>

******  Here here!!!

Larry Berlin

Email: lberlin@xxxxxxxxx
http://www.sonic.net/~lberlin/
http://3dzine.simplenet.com/


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