How to Temporarily Blind Yourself

Have you ever wondered what it might be like to be temporarily blind? Of course you have. In fact, there is a way to trick your body into becoming blind, at least for a few minutes.

Writing on Mindhacks, Vaugn Bell—perhaps one of the best neuroscience writers around—explains the trick:



What's happening? Essentially, your eye is casting the exact same pattern of light on to the retina. Because nothing's changing, the receptors in your eye start sending messages to the brain less often, so the brain is passed information less regularly. Gradually, that means the image fades to nothing. Put crudely, it's like bad smells that disappear when you're exposed to them for more than a few minutes.


Or, well, you could just close your eyes I guess. Anyway, you can read more about the phenomenon on Mind Hacks, which is great little neuroscience blog. Oh, and we don't take any responsibility for you accidentally poking yourself in the eye. [Mindhacks]

Image by Sorin Popa/Shutterstock