Most of the time, in the teaching of geometrical and physical optics, the visual system is not considered in the analysis of different phenomena. This situation is often reflected in the physic texts and is responsible of a limited comprehension of physic concepts involved. It is so natural for us to see that it is sometimes difficult for the physic teachers to give up intuitive conceptions about what and how we see. The authors propose that the common sense is not enough. It is necessary to start from a scientific point of view considering contributions from diverse fields of analysis, avoiding the temptation of reducing the behavior of the vision system to a photographic camera. To see is much more than just to record images. Vision seems effortless. Objects are recognized in the environment and actions are carried out accordingly. However, current thinking suggest that the task is performed by the cooperative action of many different modules, each with specific task. These modules may represent different parts of the brain, or different routines in a computer program. This article stands out significant contributions from different approaches: Theory of information processing, Artificial vision, Computational vision, Cognitive psychology theory of learning. These interdisciplinary contributions lead to the conclusion that the vision is an intended process. It is also able to make use of light propagation in the environment. This energy is processed constructing useful visual representations and symbols. The conclusion is that the vision is a cognitive process.
|