Why can we see monitor flickering in peripheral vision but not direct vision?

[KingNothing]

I was just sitting in front of my dual monitors and thinking about this...even at 85 Hz I can see my second monitor flickering pretty well out of the corner of my eye. How is our peripheral vision different from direct vision?

 

[OITLadyOwl]

It's something to do with how the eye perceives light. Go outside at night sometime and look straight up at some stars, then look at that same patch through the corner of your eye. You'll see a lot more stars.

 

[Dhruv]

i dont' see mine flickering in peripheral or normal.

im at 115hz dont' know if it makes a difference.

 

[Kadarin]

Your retina is composed of different kinds of light sensors: Rods, and cones. Cones are very effective at sensing and distinguishing colors, and work best in conditions with ample lighting. Ever notice that as it gets dark, you lose color vision and start to see things in black and white? That's because your retina's rods take over, which are good at seeing in low-light situations, but can't detect color very well, if at all. Cones tend to aggregate in the center of your retina, and when you look directly at something, light from that thing is hitting a part of your retina called the fovea, which is composed entirely of cones. If you look at something with peripheral vision, you're largely using rods to see it.

I'm betting that rods are better at perceiving monitor flicker.

 

[Lithium381]

basicly peripheral vision is better at motion, not detail, and the center of your vision(not direct center) is best at detail.....or something like that......something about a defense mechanizm when we were evolving i geuss

 

[ElFenix]

i'm usually pretty sensitive to flicker and i'm not noticing anything, though i'm also not near a flourescent lamp.