Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index

Depth perception

Depth perception is the visual ability to perceive the world in three dimensions. It is a trait common to many higher animals. Depth perception allows the beholder to accurately gauge the distance to an object.

Depth perception is achieved through a variety of mechanisms:

These functions are carried out automatically by the visual cortex; however, they are still a sort of guesswork by the brain, and so the beholder may fall victim to optical illusions that result in mistakes in depth perception.

See also: visual perception