I recently heard a lecture on the science of the eye from the Great Courses given by Professor Indre Viskontas. I was very taken by the astonishing facts and I'd like to share them here with some additional thoughts.

Eyeballs are categorized as brain matter and has many similar functions of the brain. Conversely, many large parts of the brain have functions that are connected to seeing. Essentially, the eye is an extension of the brain and is the only part of the brain that we can see naturally without surgical intervention.

Our eyes are the most expressive parts of our bodies. Studies have shown the immense power of the eyes in the relationship between people. In a study, participants of the study were asked to use violent language to other participants in an online forum. The receiving participants had some features of their face blocked out. The ones who had their eyes blocked out received far more violent language than any other group. Seeing another person's eyes makes us see them as people and we restrain from acting inhuman and it evokes compassion.

The most bonding vehicle of our bodies are the eyes. Studies have shown that just by looking at each other's eyes people develop romantic relationships. The color of the iris and its contrast to the black of the pupil and the white of the sclera, captivates us even after seeing it so many times.

The processing powers of the eyes are unbelievable. The lens and the retina process the light of the image that we see to the photoreceptors inside the eye. The photoreceptors and the brain work together make sense of what we see and create it into a singular vision.

There are two types of photoreceptors: rods and cones. Cones are major players in color perception and rods are more sensitive to light and modulate the adaptation to light and dark. There are over 8 million cones and over 120 million rods. These are astronomical numbers contained on each eye!

The photoreceptors which sense the image loses its sensitivity and fades quickly. The eyes deals with that by making very small involuntary movements called microsaccades, which keeps them sensitive to keep sensing the images we are seeing. When our eyes are fixed on an object, we think that they are stationary but they are not.

The above is all taken from Professor Viskontas. There is much more that science knows about the eyes and, no doubt, there is even more that science doesn't know, at least, yet.

I was very taken by this information because we can “see” the wonderment of G-d's creation every moment. It's right “in front of our eyes”. When we see something and experience sight, there is an ocean of dynamism happening in our eyes that we experience right now.

Also, when we look at someone else's eyes, we see a part of the other person's brain! We can gain so much sensitivity to other people by being aware of these facts when we look at someone's eyes.

In Judaism there are a lot of Mitzvos (commandments) that reflect the sensitivity of the eyes. One of them is caring for their spiritual purity, by not looking at profane images. Looking at things connect us to that object and it scans it directly into our brain, which contains it for many years to come.

The prophet Isaiah tells us (Isaiah 40; 26), “Lift up your eyes on high and see, who created these!” With the revelations of science in the last few generations, we don't have to “lift up our eyes” we can just “see with our eyes” the great wonders of the Creator's masterpieces.

Every moment that we see, we can connect ourselves to the dynamism and vitality that is happening in our eyes and marvel at and rejoice with the great wonders that we are blessed to behold.

Comments? Email me: Moshe@jaketv.tv