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This book will explore the power of seeing by covering the following:

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* The anatomy (or parts of our eye), and how they help us see.

* The special cells in our eyes that aid in the interpretation of color and dim light.

* Where in our brain vision is processed.

* How our brain tries to make sense of what it sees, but sometimes it doesn't get is exactly correct (see the picture of the elephant on the next page).

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If you see this icon, it means that there is a link to interactive activity.

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How many legs does this elephant have?

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This is an example of an optical illusion.

What do your eyes do?

They help you see, of course!

But have you ever wondered how your eyes help you to see?

Well, similar to how a car travels on a road, signals travel to the brain from the eye, relaying messages.

Important stuff coming thru!

Your eyes are one of your five senses. Information from all of your senses help us understand the world around us. Your eyes can process over 10 million things at once!

To begin, light enters the eye through the pupil. With the help of the lens, the light hits the back of your eye (or retina). This results in electrical signals that carry information from your eyes to your brain. These signals travel to the brain through the optic nerve (think of this as a road) to the back of your brain, the final destination. Your brain then turns these electrical signals into something you recognize.

The cornea

Light must first pass through is the cornea, a clear, thick, dome-shaped surface that covers the front of the eye.

The cornea protects the eye from injury

Have you ever got an eye lash in your eye?

It feels pretty uncomfortable, huh? This is because your cornea has a lot of nerves. Nerves help you feel pain, which can be a warning sign that something is wrong and needs to be fixed. The pain you feel from the eye lash in your eye, is your cornea working to protect your eye by telling your brain, 'hey, make sure your eye is ok!'.

Meet a real neuroscienist

Ian Meng, PhD, is a neuroscientist that works at the University of New England, in Biddeford, Maine. He studies the nerves in the cornea and dry eye disease.

This is an image of a cornea the Dr. Meng took in his laboratory. The pink lines are nerves in your cornea.