Reset password:

The Resolution of Your Eyes

Written by on April 16, 2007

Have you ever wondered how many megapixels our eyes are capable of? I have, and it turns out that we can see with the astounding detail of 576 megapixels. That is 30 times better than any HDTV. It is similar to a computer screen running with a resolution of 32,000 x 18,000 (try designing a fluid website layout for that...)

Each "picture" our eye sees is about 1.61GB of RAW data (or 249MB if it is saved as JPEG). It would take a high-end laptop about 2 minutes just to save the picture + the time it takes to do any kind of data processing -like pattern recognition, color and motion detection.

Our brain can do the same almost instantly. A test with USAF fighter pilots revealed that they could distinguish visual changes at a rate of 1/220th of a second - a frame-rate of 220 (that would be one hell of a gaming experience). Then imagine the speed of our perception when looking at the subconscious level...

Of course, without my glasses the only thing I can see is a 576 megapixel image of colored fog :)

Share on

Thomas Baekdal

Thomas Baekdal

Founder of Baekdal, author, writer, strategic consultant, and new media advocate.

Follow    

Baekdal PLUS: Premium content that helps you make the right decisions, take the right actions, and focus on what really matters.

There is always more...

It's a Magical Life »

Two New Books From Baekdal Plus »

New feed for 'What You Need To Know' »

The Shift - My Next Book »

Social Commerce Book Introduction »

3 Way Street - Illustrating Traffic Problems »

10 Ways to Cultivate Your Community »

IPad Stand for Your Hammock »

The Panda Run »

Twitter, you know, there is this thing called mobile »

A Gawker Redesign Moment »

One Million Thanks! »