this post was submitted on 25 Sep 2024
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Science Memes

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submitted 3 weeks ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[โ€“] [email protected] 29 points 3 weeks ago (5 children)

This doesn't make sense to me. The iris doesn't collect light for vision. The pupil expands or contracts to vary the amount of light that reaches the retina. Iris color should have nothing to do with it.

[โ€“] [email protected] 51 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

From the first source on the linked study, they describe it as the following:

(...) This functions as a mirror providing the second opportunity for photon capture by reflecting light back through the retina, enhancing visual sensitivity.

[โ€“] [email protected] 0 points 3 weeks ago

But the iris is a mask, it blocks off axis light

[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

Plus, no summer day is brighter than a clear winter day with snow on the ground.

[โ€“] [email protected] 11 points 3 weeks ago

It is if you live in a part of the world that is dark for months at a time during the winter, like reindeer do.

[โ€“] [email protected] 7 points 3 weeks ago

Most reindeer live North of the Arctic Circle, where the sun does not rise above the horizon in winter months. I suspect most summer days are brighter than the few hours of twilight the reideer get in December.

[โ€“] [email protected] 5 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

The pupil dilates, combined with more uv light seasonally, changes the structure of the iris and thus it's color. (It reflects differently)

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago

A lighter iris color correlates with higher light sensitivity and better low light vision. The higher density of pigment in a darker iris blocks light better.