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[–] 130 points 11 months ago (4 children)

@Stacyasks@lemmy.cafe @nostupidquestions@lemmy.worldYes. It's called "Eigengrau" and it happens due to the adaptation of the eye amidst the darkness.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eigengrau

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  • [–] 58 points 11 months ago

    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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  • [–] 10 points 11 months ago (1 child)

    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?)

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  • [–] 13 points 11 months ago

    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

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