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A Natural History of Seeing: The Art and Science of Vision
Contributor(s): Ings, Simon (Author)

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 ISBN: 039306719X     ISBN-13: 9780393067194
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
OUR PRICE: $26.55  

Binding Type: Hardcover
Published: October 2008
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Temporarily out of stock - Will ship within 2 to 5 weeks

Annotation: Ings' work delves into both the evolution of sight and the evolution of the human understanding of sight. The book presents the natural science, while also addressing the history, philosophy, and mythology of how and why people see the way they do. Illustrations throughout.
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Science | Life Sciences - Anatomy & Physiology
- Science | Physics - Optics & Light
- Science | History
Dewey: 612.84
LCCN: 2008025924
Physical Information: 1.2" H x 5.7" W x 8.3" L (1.15 lbs) 336 pages
Features: Bibliography, Dust Cover, Illustrated, Index, Price on Product, Table of Contents
Review Citations: Kirkus Reviews 08/01/2008 pg. 794
Booklist 10/15/2008 pg. 10
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:
We spend about one-tenth of our waking hours completely blind. Only one percent of what we see is in focus at any one time. There is no direct fossil evidence for the evolution of the eye. In graceful, accessible prose, novelist and science writer Simon Ings sets out to solve these and other mysteries of seeing.A Natural History of Seeing delves into both the evolution of sight and the evolution of our understanding of sight. It gives us the natural science--the physics of light and the biology of animals and humans alike--while also addressing Leonardo's theories of perception in painting and Homer's confused and strangely limited sense of color. Panoramic in every sense, it reaches back to the first seers (and to ancient beliefs that vision is the product of mysterious optic rays) and forward to the promise of modern experiments in making robots that see.

Contributor Bio(s): Ings, Simon: - Simon Ings's most recent novel is The Weight of Numbers. His science features and interviews have appeared in magazines as diverse as New Scientist, Wired, and Dazed and Confused. Ings lives in London.
 
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