Liebmann further asserts, “that we see things only
in perspective sizes, i.e., only from an angle of vision varying with
their approach, withdrawal and change of position, but in no sense as
definite cubical, linear, or surface sizes. The apparent size of an
object we call an angle of vision at a certain distance. But, what
indeed is the different, true size? We know only relations of
magnitude.” This description is important when we are dealing with
testimony concerning size. It seems obvious that each witness who speaks
of size is to be asked whence he had observed it, but at the same time a
great many unexpected errors occur, especially when what is involved is
the determination of the size of an object in the same plane. One need
only to recall the meeting of railway tracks, streets, alleys, etc., and
to remember how different in size, according to the point of view of the
witness, various objects in such places must appear. Everybody knows
that distant things seem smaller than near ones, but almost nobody knows
what the difference amounts to. For examples see Lotze, “Medical
Psychology,” Leipzig, 1852.
In addition we often think that the clearness of an object represents
its distance and suppose that the first alone determines the latter. But
the distinctness of objects, i.e., the perceptibility of a
light-impression, depends also upon the absolute brightness and the
differences in brightness. The latter is more important than is
supposed. Try to determine how far away you can see a key-hole when the
wall containing the door is in the shadow, and when there is a window
opposite the key-hole. A dark object of the size of a key-hole will not
be visible at one hundredth of the distance at which the key-hole is
perceived. Moreover, the difference in intensity is not alone in
consideration; the intensity of the object _with regard to its
background_ has yet to be considered. Aubert has shown that the accuracy
of the distinction is the same when a square of white paper is looked at
from an angle of 18´´, and when conversely a square of black paper on
white background is looked at from an angle of 35´´. “When we put a gray
paper in the sunshine, it may become objectively brighter than white
paper in shadow. But this does not prevent us from knowing one as gray
and the other as pure white. We separate the color of the object from
the intensity of the incident light.” But this is not always so simple,
inasmuch as we know in the case in hand which paper is gray and which
white, which is in the sunlight and which in the shadow. But if these
facts are not known mistakes often occur so that a man dressed in dark
clothes but in full light will be described as wearing lighter clothes
than one who wears light clothes in the shadow.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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