Monday, October 27, 2008

The Vestibular System

I guess we didn't cover this to well in Bio back in the day, but i read a pretty cool article on the Vestibular system in the NY times. It says that even a couple years ago this mechanism barely got a mention, but now it's big news.

"Hold your index finger a few inches in front of your face and sweep it back and forth at a rate of maybe once or twice a second. What do you see? A blurry finger. Now hold your finger steady and instead shake your head back and forth at the same half-second pace."

The lack of blur is your Vestibular system compensating for YOUR motion but not for that of others. It's also responsible for that sensation when you get off a boat and thing it's still moving. It's also responsible for your inability to walk when you're drunk!

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