It is not entirely clear, which of the advantages requires functioning binocular, and which will be present with sufficient binocular experience in the past or after having studied dance in the past with the benefit of binocular vision. Also, it might be argued that some of the advantages I am writing about are not really advantages of binocular vision and that the changes that I observed are simply a natural progress. I am ready to dismiss this argument. People do not become better dancers overnight, and people do not become better learners of dance overnight, yet this is exactly what happened.
1. I already wrote about this one. Binocular vision creates an immediate sense of gravity, of the directions "up" and "down".
This means that after I acquired binocular vision, it came with an immediate sensation of what is "up" and what is "down", as I already described in a previous post "up, down, and other directions". I was taking a modern dance class on Saturday, the 30th of July, and was able to observe how, as the binocular vision got stronger, and then weaker, the same happened with the sensation of gravity. The sensation of gravity allows you to stand on one leg and feel how the weight is going directly down, through the leg. The sensation of gravity allows you to do a hand stand and feel how the weight of the body is going directly down through the arms. When you bend forward from your hips, in any style of dance, yoga, or any other discipline, the sensation of gravity allows you to feel your legs as vertical possible, with weight going down through your legs, so your pelvis is only moving back as much as necessary.
Surely, such awareness requires training. However, the level of immediacy of this awareness is so strong, it appeared so suddenly, and then got weaker and stronger at the same time as the stereo perception got respectively weaker and stronger, that I have to conclude that it is immediately linked to binocular vision, perhaps, more specifically to stereopsis. What surprizes me the most is that the sense of gravity is as clear with the eyes closed as with the eyes open.
A natural assumption would be that the vestibular system was contradicting the input from the visual system and was suppressed, but now they are harmonizing. However, once again, this contradicts my direct experience. First of all, I had a glimpse of this verticality a little before acquiring stereopsis - if I am correct, on Wednesday, July the 27th. One of the assistants in the class told me to, perhaps go directly down in plie, or do something else directly down or directly up, I don't remember. However, as she said that, she suggested to imagine a vertical string or thread in the air. She showed how the thread would go, and I saw it, indeed, going vertically, through the never. I had never had such a clear image of verticality in my life. The vertical line, or thread, or string that I saw, was not parallel to anything, not parallel to the wall, not perpendicular to the floor. Maybe it was, but I did not notice it. It was just going directly up and directly down. Was it possible that my vestibular system had already changed that much even before I actually acquired stereopsis? Is imagining a vertical string a function of the binocular system at all?
2. This one is even more amazing. Binocular vision creates three-dimensional body awareness.
This means that now I can feel, for example, the shape of my pelvis more directly, in a way, that was not previously accessible to me. This is true even when I close my eyes. I can perceive its shape and position in three dimensions directly, and yes, I can create pulsations in my visual cortex just by concentrating on the shape of my pelvis and its location and movement in space. (To be fair, right now I can do almost anything, as long as I do it with awareness and not automatically, and still create pulsations in my visual cortex.)
I can initiate movement in ways that were not accessible to me before. In fact, I feel that my flexibility is increasing. I thought I had limited flexibility in a number of places; however, now it seems that I was not able to direct my body precisely enough. This is why flexibility did not develop, because I introduced some random variations, and different muscles and ligaments were stretched, non-uniformly on the left and on the right.
It has, of course, nothing to do with seeing per se. However, it has to do with being able to imagine a three-dimensional shape. You know, I had such a peculiar feeling in my first couple of days with stereopsis, that I was not able to imagine anything, nor to recall anything. In fact, every time I was able to imagine a plant separated in space, I felt how my binocular vision improved from this act of imagination. Remembering was difficult, particularly on Friday the 29th and Saturday the 30th of July. As I already wrote, I learned to consciously create three-dimensional faces out of two-dimensional memories, but only for people I knew well. Mostly, it didn't work, or I could come out of stereopsis and imagine things on the left eye, or on the right eye, or across both eyes. In the spirit of Dr. Bates, I assume that to imagine a 3d-image is the same as to see a 3d-image, which is the same as to remember a 3d-image. All three tasks are equally difficult or equally easy, and require the same state of mind. This state of mind is probably what Dr. Frederick Brock (1899-1971) called "binocular posture".
Continuing with body awareness, my body awareness seems to increase very quickly from watching other people. That is, from sensing how other people's bodies move in three dimensions, I can feel it so much better for myself. Make no mistake: I studied various styles of dance and other disciplines for some years, and I studied anatomy and I have seen pictures with muscles and joints and thought about how they function. My understanding improved in a matter of days so much, and then after several more days it grew even further. I would say that such changes do not happen so quickly, even after years of work.
I am not sure what to say about people who have been blind from birth and somehow learned to dance or to do yoga. Are they capable of the same or better level of body awareness? How would they learn without vision, which is always a major tool for learning any movement discipline? I don't know.
3. Just like with exploring the city, just like with learning the body language of the society where you are growing up, stereopsis is a learning tool.
I couldn't believe it when I realized, again in a dance class, how much more information I was getting. I also had to work less to get this information. Just like with other things, I could replace scanning for information by simply observing and taking in all the details. Perhaps, the observational skill can be learned without acquiring stereopsis. However, and it has to do with the body awareness advantage mentioned above, when you are learning dance, the 3d information you are receiving from observation is directly applicable. You are seeing a move in three dimensions and, with appropriate experience and training, you can directly project what you are seeing on your body. Of course, some people do it better, others do it worse, but now I can do it with the whole three-dimensional shape. I guess, if I continue to develop this ability along the Eyebody principles, I should learn to take in the mood or the artistic or spiritual qualities simultaneously with the technical details, which I cannot always do right now.
When I became aware of this faster learning, I did think about how unfair the world was. I recalled all those little girls who picked things up on the fly, and how I was spending hours looking at photographs at different angles, trying to understand a movement, and having no clue there there was a better way. However, this is not really a concern not that I have acquired binocular vision that already works quite well. What really scares me is this: what if I did not work on my vision? I am scared to think that the disadvantage of not having and having never had binocular vision cannot really be overcome by hard work - in dance, in martial arts, in basketball... I know that having no legs cannot be overcome either, but the thing is, I did not really know that I had some can of disadvantage that was inherent in the way my brain functioned. I did not realize why certain things were more difficult for me than for others, and I did not even realize the fact that those things were more difficult for me. This is what scares me - this limitation that was like an invisible wall in front of me, although, I guess, it may be much more depressing to live and know that you have a disability.
Stereopsis is helpful not just for learning by watching a teacher. You are watching yourself in the mirror, and you will see so much more with stereopsis and 3d-body awareness. I don't know if this is stereopsis or something in the brain that is connected with stereopsis or with appropriate centers in the visual cortex. However, I am absolutely certain the change that happened in me, in my brain, is fundamental, and is incomparable to changes that happen after hard work. This change is of a different kind.
Stereopsis helps for learning dance not just when you are watching the mirror. It helps to watch other dancers, even as you are dancing. It takes a smart visual system to figure out your movement, figure out their movement, and allow you to perceive their movement as you are moving. Furthermore, with 3d-body awareness there is more attention left since movements in 3d are perceived directly, they are almost atomic. It takes much more mental space to represent a movement with two-dimensional thinking. I guess, to do a movement you really have to visualize it, consciously or not, and it is easier to connect to one three-dimensional image, static or in motion, than to multiple two-dimensional images.
Of course, with stereopsis you are learning more from watching dance, and you are enjoying it more, too. Particularly when the tempo is fast, you can see so much more.
I even wanted to say that with stereopsis you are more likely to get interested in dance, because it is more beautiful in 3d, but this is simply not true. With stereopsis everything is more beautiful or, of course, uglier. So many other things to get interested in, other than dance. For example, trees or basketball...
4. Certain elements of technique are directly based on stereopsis. Have you seen thirty-two fouettés? Think about spotting for turns in dance. People think that the spotting technique is to prevent dizziness. Surely, it is much easier to get dizzy with than without binocular vision. However, spotting is clearly based on the eye-body patterns associated with binocular fixation. Once again think about a hunting owl. The owl fixes its eyes on a mouse, and this act of focusing, of fixation, brings a change in the entire body. The whole being of the owl gets directed towards the mouse in no time because of the organizing power of the binocular focus. The changes that vision brings in our body are beyond our consciousness. I do not think that one really can break down and reproduce the movements that are naturally arising as a consequence of looking somewhere with interest. You go where you look.
1. I already wrote about this one. Binocular vision creates an immediate sense of gravity, of the directions "up" and "down".
This means that after I acquired binocular vision, it came with an immediate sensation of what is "up" and what is "down", as I already described in a previous post "up, down, and other directions". I was taking a modern dance class on Saturday, the 30th of July, and was able to observe how, as the binocular vision got stronger, and then weaker, the same happened with the sensation of gravity. The sensation of gravity allows you to stand on one leg and feel how the weight is going directly down, through the leg. The sensation of gravity allows you to do a hand stand and feel how the weight of the body is going directly down through the arms. When you bend forward from your hips, in any style of dance, yoga, or any other discipline, the sensation of gravity allows you to feel your legs as vertical possible, with weight going down through your legs, so your pelvis is only moving back as much as necessary.
Surely, such awareness requires training. However, the level of immediacy of this awareness is so strong, it appeared so suddenly, and then got weaker and stronger at the same time as the stereo perception got respectively weaker and stronger, that I have to conclude that it is immediately linked to binocular vision, perhaps, more specifically to stereopsis. What surprizes me the most is that the sense of gravity is as clear with the eyes closed as with the eyes open.
A natural assumption would be that the vestibular system was contradicting the input from the visual system and was suppressed, but now they are harmonizing. However, once again, this contradicts my direct experience. First of all, I had a glimpse of this verticality a little before acquiring stereopsis - if I am correct, on Wednesday, July the 27th. One of the assistants in the class told me to, perhaps go directly down in plie, or do something else directly down or directly up, I don't remember. However, as she said that, she suggested to imagine a vertical string or thread in the air. She showed how the thread would go, and I saw it, indeed, going vertically, through the never. I had never had such a clear image of verticality in my life. The vertical line, or thread, or string that I saw, was not parallel to anything, not parallel to the wall, not perpendicular to the floor. Maybe it was, but I did not notice it. It was just going directly up and directly down. Was it possible that my vestibular system had already changed that much even before I actually acquired stereopsis? Is imagining a vertical string a function of the binocular system at all?
2. This one is even more amazing. Binocular vision creates three-dimensional body awareness.
This means that now I can feel, for example, the shape of my pelvis more directly, in a way, that was not previously accessible to me. This is true even when I close my eyes. I can perceive its shape and position in three dimensions directly, and yes, I can create pulsations in my visual cortex just by concentrating on the shape of my pelvis and its location and movement in space. (To be fair, right now I can do almost anything, as long as I do it with awareness and not automatically, and still create pulsations in my visual cortex.)
I can initiate movement in ways that were not accessible to me before. In fact, I feel that my flexibility is increasing. I thought I had limited flexibility in a number of places; however, now it seems that I was not able to direct my body precisely enough. This is why flexibility did not develop, because I introduced some random variations, and different muscles and ligaments were stretched, non-uniformly on the left and on the right.
It has, of course, nothing to do with seeing per se. However, it has to do with being able to imagine a three-dimensional shape. You know, I had such a peculiar feeling in my first couple of days with stereopsis, that I was not able to imagine anything, nor to recall anything. In fact, every time I was able to imagine a plant separated in space, I felt how my binocular vision improved from this act of imagination. Remembering was difficult, particularly on Friday the 29th and Saturday the 30th of July. As I already wrote, I learned to consciously create three-dimensional faces out of two-dimensional memories, but only for people I knew well. Mostly, it didn't work, or I could come out of stereopsis and imagine things on the left eye, or on the right eye, or across both eyes. In the spirit of Dr. Bates, I assume that to imagine a 3d-image is the same as to see a 3d-image, which is the same as to remember a 3d-image. All three tasks are equally difficult or equally easy, and require the same state of mind. This state of mind is probably what Dr. Frederick Brock (1899-1971) called "binocular posture".
Continuing with body awareness, my body awareness seems to increase very quickly from watching other people. That is, from sensing how other people's bodies move in three dimensions, I can feel it so much better for myself. Make no mistake: I studied various styles of dance and other disciplines for some years, and I studied anatomy and I have seen pictures with muscles and joints and thought about how they function. My understanding improved in a matter of days so much, and then after several more days it grew even further. I would say that such changes do not happen so quickly, even after years of work.
I am not sure what to say about people who have been blind from birth and somehow learned to dance or to do yoga. Are they capable of the same or better level of body awareness? How would they learn without vision, which is always a major tool for learning any movement discipline? I don't know.
3. Just like with exploring the city, just like with learning the body language of the society where you are growing up, stereopsis is a learning tool.
I couldn't believe it when I realized, again in a dance class, how much more information I was getting. I also had to work less to get this information. Just like with other things, I could replace scanning for information by simply observing and taking in all the details. Perhaps, the observational skill can be learned without acquiring stereopsis. However, and it has to do with the body awareness advantage mentioned above, when you are learning dance, the 3d information you are receiving from observation is directly applicable. You are seeing a move in three dimensions and, with appropriate experience and training, you can directly project what you are seeing on your body. Of course, some people do it better, others do it worse, but now I can do it with the whole three-dimensional shape. I guess, if I continue to develop this ability along the Eyebody principles, I should learn to take in the mood or the artistic or spiritual qualities simultaneously with the technical details, which I cannot always do right now.
When I became aware of this faster learning, I did think about how unfair the world was. I recalled all those little girls who picked things up on the fly, and how I was spending hours looking at photographs at different angles, trying to understand a movement, and having no clue there there was a better way. However, this is not really a concern not that I have acquired binocular vision that already works quite well. What really scares me is this: what if I did not work on my vision? I am scared to think that the disadvantage of not having and having never had binocular vision cannot really be overcome by hard work - in dance, in martial arts, in basketball... I know that having no legs cannot be overcome either, but the thing is, I did not really know that I had some can of disadvantage that was inherent in the way my brain functioned. I did not realize why certain things were more difficult for me than for others, and I did not even realize the fact that those things were more difficult for me. This is what scares me - this limitation that was like an invisible wall in front of me, although, I guess, it may be much more depressing to live and know that you have a disability.
Stereopsis is helpful not just for learning by watching a teacher. You are watching yourself in the mirror, and you will see so much more with stereopsis and 3d-body awareness. I don't know if this is stereopsis or something in the brain that is connected with stereopsis or with appropriate centers in the visual cortex. However, I am absolutely certain the change that happened in me, in my brain, is fundamental, and is incomparable to changes that happen after hard work. This change is of a different kind.
Stereopsis helps for learning dance not just when you are watching the mirror. It helps to watch other dancers, even as you are dancing. It takes a smart visual system to figure out your movement, figure out their movement, and allow you to perceive their movement as you are moving. Furthermore, with 3d-body awareness there is more attention left since movements in 3d are perceived directly, they are almost atomic. It takes much more mental space to represent a movement with two-dimensional thinking. I guess, to do a movement you really have to visualize it, consciously or not, and it is easier to connect to one three-dimensional image, static or in motion, than to multiple two-dimensional images.
Of course, with stereopsis you are learning more from watching dance, and you are enjoying it more, too. Particularly when the tempo is fast, you can see so much more.
I even wanted to say that with stereopsis you are more likely to get interested in dance, because it is more beautiful in 3d, but this is simply not true. With stereopsis everything is more beautiful or, of course, uglier. So many other things to get interested in, other than dance. For example, trees or basketball...
4. Certain elements of technique are directly based on stereopsis. Have you seen thirty-two fouettés? Think about spotting for turns in dance. People think that the spotting technique is to prevent dizziness. Surely, it is much easier to get dizzy with than without binocular vision. However, spotting is clearly based on the eye-body patterns associated with binocular fixation. Once again think about a hunting owl. The owl fixes its eyes on a mouse, and this act of focusing, of fixation, brings a change in the entire body. The whole being of the owl gets directed towards the mouse in no time because of the organizing power of the binocular focus. The changes that vision brings in our body are beyond our consciousness. I do not think that one really can break down and reproduce the movements that are naturally arising as a consequence of looking somewhere with interest. You go where you look.
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