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Camouflage in Motion

Posted by michael on from the predator dept.

Adrian writes "Remember Jurassic Park, where Goldbloom stood really still and the T-Rex couldn't see him? Well, there might be a better way. Scientists have found that dragonflies can dissappear by keeping their image on your retina in the same place, even if you move. How they manage it still has them puzzled... ;)"

3 of 57 comments (clear)

  1. How they manage it still has them puzzled... by Yarn · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I've never seen a puzzled dragonfly. Oh. The scientists.

    I'd assume that the dragonfly merely tries to keep the thing it's hiding from in the same position on *its* retina. It'd be a fairly simple feedback mechanism, if you did it with analogue electronics.

    --
    -Yarn - Rio Karma: Excellent
  2. King Charles II of England did this by TomGroves · · Score: 4, Interesting

    King Charles 'beheaded' guests who bored or annoyed him by viewing them at such an angle that his blindspot was over their head. Try it for yourself

  3. Breaking news: Scientist reinvent the wheel again by eggstasy · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Well duh. Didn't they ever catch flies when they were young? The way to do it is to take two fingers and follow the fly with them, maintaining the distance between your hand and the fly. after a while the fly will think your fingers are part of the background and will easily let you catch it.