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stranger
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I am writing a poem, and need to know the authentic scientific phrase to express the optical effect that makes objects seen up close appear to double, as in the little sausage that appears when you hold your index fingers about an inch apart, an inch or so in front of your eyes. I have been using the term 'binocular parallax' because that is what I thought I remembered from Physics, but can no longer find reference to it, and have no confidence that is right. Upon learning the correct phrase, I'll post the poem (it's not long). Thanks.

davy jones


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veteran
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Total conjecture on my part.

I'm not sure of the term you want. If you have two eye points located in different places (one on each side of a nose, for example), there will be binocular parallax (slight difference in image) to provide depth perception. This binocular parallax might cause the optical illusion you refer to (among others), but I suspect it's not the term for the illusion.

It's probably the same effect that makes an autostereogram work.

When I say "cause" in these cases, I'm talking about proximate cause. The actual illusion in each case is caused by some processing on the disparate images in the brain.

k



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dxb Offline
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I think FF is right about the autostereogram and according to this url it is just called parallax vision.

http:// http://www.dimensional.com/~randl/arjuna.htm


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When a finger is held too close for images to be fused, diplopia results.


#92747 01/21/2003 6:47 PM
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Carpal Tunnel
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What a sweet word.


#92748 01/21/2003 6:51 PM
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wwh Offline
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I dunno, musick. It sounds to me like excrement hitting the pot.


#92749 01/21/2003 6:58 PM
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'Sweet' in the rhythmic sense...


#92750 01/22/2003 12:33 AM
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Yeah. The Ps give it a nice syncopation while the vowels move it along.


#92751 01/23/2003 8:38 PM
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The Ps give it a nice syncopation while the vowels move it along.

whereas, in Bill's reading of it, the P gives it a nice syncopation while the bowels move it along.


#92752 01/24/2003 8:06 AM
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while the bowels move it along.

Oh Gawd!


#92753 01/24/2003 11:23 AM
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In Spanish, the b and v sounds are so similar that many people misspell words that include them. [looking out the window, whistling-e]


#92754 01/24/2003 11:32 AM
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dxb Offline
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Umm. Cerveza springs to mind - but then it would wouldn't it.


#92755 01/24/2003 11:54 AM
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In Spanish, the b and v sounds are so similar

¿Is that a B like in Victor or a B like in Habana?


#92756 01/24/2003 2:59 PM
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In Spanish, the b and v sounds are so similar

¿Is that a B like in Victor or a B like in Habana?

The distinction is sufficiently hard to hear that there a standard phrase - "¿B de Burro, or V de Vaca?" - to help differentiate.


#92757 01/24/2003 11:31 PM
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Interesting to note that the Cyrillic letter "B" is pronounced as "v". Must drive them loco in Cuba.


#92758 01/24/2003 11:48 PM
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In Spanish, the b and v sounds are so similar

The distinction is sufficiently hard to hear that here a standard phrase - "¿B Burro, or V de Vaca?"

Like Faldage said: ¿Is that a B like in Victor or a B like in Habana?


What's Espanish for 'chopped liver'?

#92759 01/25/2003 7:14 PM
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In Sardinian there does not appear to be a "v" sound, and all occasions of "v" have been replaced with "b". For example, "venti" in Italian means 20, and this is "binti" in Sardinian. And so on.


#92760 01/25/2003 8:38 PM
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In reply to:

What's Espanish for 'chopped liver'?


Paté........

Bueno. Hígado picado.

It's not so much that the b and v are interchangeable, the v most often sounds like b, although there are also instances in which the b sounds more like v, ie bacha. Vaca, incidently, is one of the words most likely to be spelled "baca".


#92761 01/25/2003 8:56 PM
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In fact, that sound is my favorite phoneme, just for its name: 'bilabial fricative.' (...which can be extended, by those who are wont, to describe a Bronx cheer...)


#92762 01/25/2003 9:22 PM
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wwh Offline
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Then there is the gentle bilabial fricative that is a prelude to romance.



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