A new study has revealed that what we perceive in the present is an average of what our eyes saw over the past 15 seconds.
Published in Science Advances by researchers from the University of Aberdeen and UC Berkeley, the study uncovers a “visual stability illusion” that helps smooth out the chaotic visual data our eyes constantly send to the brain.
The research explains that instead of analyzing every visual frame, our brain merges recent snapshots to create a stable, cohesive image. This prevents dizziness and nausea, akin to how video stabilization software works.
Known as "serial dependence," this phenomenon makes objects appear more consistent over time by comparing live images with those from the immediate past.
To test this, researchers conducted experiments with images that morphed slowly, like faces ageing from young to old. Participants consistently misjudged the images’ actual state, perceiving them as closer to prior frames.
By relying on this 15-second delay, the brain reduces noise from fluctuating retinal images caused by motion, lighting changes, and perspective shifts. This discovery sheds light on why we don't notice subtle changes in real-time and how the brain creates the illusion of visual stability.
Next time you take a shaky video, remember—your brain is doing the same thing to stabilize your world, 15 seconds at a time.
