The shape of space

Abstract

We consider the shape of “visual space”. One immediate complication is that there are numerous “visual spaces”, often confused in the literature. Here we focus on visual awareness, rather than optically guided behavior, and “contemplative”, rather than “enactive” vision. Even so, the number of conceptually different “visual spaces” is appreciable. Important distinctions are between visual space as a rigid image of physical space, and visual space as an entity that depends critically upon an observer’s present state. For instance, in judging the relation between two locations, an observer may fixate one or the other. Conceivably, “visual space” will change the moment the observer swaps fixations. If that is indeed the case, then many of the conventional ways to address visual space, or to analyze raw psychophysical data, become effectively invalid. Here we re-analyze a number of available data-sets from such a perspective. We suggest that our notions of “the shape of visual space” need revision and re-investigation.