Re: [photo-3d] Re: Dominant Eye

[Linda Nygren <lnygren@xxxxxxx>]

My comments on eye dominance were not based on "science", except that
they are based on my empiric observations of my own vision, as with the
"test" previously mentioned. My right eye dominance is a definite and
consistently observed phenomenon, as in the "tests" described with
looking through a small circle at arms length: my brain perceives the
background image seen by my right eye and ignores the left background
when my eyes are converged on a near object (the circle or my thumb),
presumably to avoid seeing a double image in the background. 

I expect that most people would tend to use their "dominant eye" when
looking through a camera viewfinder or observing a stereoview or
anything else with one eye, and this is indeed the case for me. But
admittedly some people have a much stronger hand preference than others,
and can be "switch hitters" when it is to their advantage; likewise I
suspect that the eye *preference* may be more influenced by practice and
"habit", whereas eye *dominance* may be more hard-wired in the brain
like handedness tends to be. 

My idle speculation also goes toward whether people with a *less strong*
eye preference (more "ambi-ocular") might have an advantage in binocular
stereo vision, or somehow are more aware of bincular cues than those
with a stronger eye dominance who might have to "work at it" harder on
some level to pay attention to both eyes' input. 

The speculation about "cross dominance" (between eye and hand dominance)
being correlated with good stereophotographic ability is an interesting
hypothesis, and it would be not be inconceivable that the associated
neuroanatomy might be correlated somehow with better spacial perceptive
abilities, which could clearly be an advantage to a stereo photographer.
But I am not planning any scientific studies to test the hypothesis, and
am not aware of any that have been done. 

And now not only do I have to continue to struggle along as one of the
"inferior" majority of right handed folks (according to many lefty
activists), but I also have to live with the additional handicap of also
being right eye dominant. Sigh. -Linda

Herbert C Maxey wrote:
> 
> >>"Cross dominant" would be e.g. left handed but right eye dominant, or
> >>vice versa. I am right eyed and right handed, myself. I am also right
> >>footed
> 
> So is there any actual science behind all these comments and suppositions
> or are you all just guessing? There must be some specific stereo tests
> that can be performed to determine if you are "Dominant" in either eye.
> And I am not too sure if these are very accurate either. At the
> beginning, it was surmised that the eye one chooses to view one side of a
> stereo pair makes that you "Dominant" eye. I think you would have to find
> a reputable expert to agree that this is the actual case. I think it has
> more to do with a habit you develop.
> 
> At dinner tonight, I asked my brother to look at a stereo card with one
> eye closed. He is right handed and closed the right eye. His wife is also
> right handed, but closed her left eye. My mom is left handed, as am I,
> and I close my right eye and so does she. I kick with my right foot and I
> play left handed guitar.
> 
> My dog herman lost a leg when he was run over, so I did not ask him - it
> would have skewed the results.
> 
> This is a fascinating subject to me, but I would like to see some real
> science, not just supposition.
> 
> Bob