We're tempted to say that we'd just relax then, and go along for the ride, rather than worrying about running the show. But then why would Darwin even bother with THAT, since all he cared about was that we should be able to survive and reproduce. Here, for those who haven't seen them, are the abstract of the four papers I discussed today. It is concluded from a review of the literature that blindsight studies have generally failed to control for nonblindsight interpretations partly because of poor methodology and partly because of difficulties in defining blindsight. Five experiments with 8 Subjects investigated the extent to which Subjects would exhibit performance similar to blindsight when using scattered light as a cue.
Results reveal good blindsight performance when only scattered light was available as a cue.
It is concluded that an adequate case for blindsight has not been made and that it is probably impossible to demonstrate the existence of blindsight on purely behavioral grounds. It is suggested that what is required is the establishment of relationships between visual function and independent anatomical evidence. 22 peer commentaries and the present author's response to them are included. A survey and appraisal. These conditions are better fulfilled in parafoveal vision and are realized ideally in pattern masking.