Which animal has the best eyesight? - Thomas W. Cronin

Explore the incredible diversity of eyes and vision in the animal kingdom, and find out which creature has the best eyesight.
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The animal kingdom boasts an incredible diversity of eyes. Some rotate independently while others have squiggly-shaped pupils. Some have protective lids, others squirt blood. But which creature has the best sight? Which sees best in the darkness? Which sees the most detail? Which animal sees the most color? And finally, which detects motion the fastest? Thomas W. Cronin investigates.
Lesson by Thomas W. Cronin, directed by Josefina Preumayr.
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View full lesson: ed.ted.com/lessons/which-anim...
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Animator's website: www.josefinapreumayr.com
Music: / aim-music
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Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Ugur Doga Sezgin, Anthony Arcis, Karmi Nguyen, John C. Vesey, Yelena Baykova, Harshita Jagdish Sahijwani, Nick Johnson, Carlos H. Costa, Robert Patrick, Jennifer Kurkoski, Ryan B Harvey, Abhishek Bansal, Akinola Emmanuel, Jose Arcadio Valdes Franco, Sebastiaan Vleugels, JY Kang, Abhishek Goel, Heidi Stolt, Christina Salvatore, Karlee Finch, Michael Goldberg, Denise A Pitts, Doug Henry, Keven Webb, Mihai Sandu, Deepak Iyer, Javid Gozalov, Kyanta Yap, Rebecca Reineke, William Biersdorf, Patricia Alves Panagides, Yvette Mocete, Cyrus Garay, Samuel Barbas, Brighteagle, LadyGeek, Curtis Light, Dianne Palomar, Marin Kovachev, Fahad Nasser Chowdhury, Penelope Misquitta, Hans Peng, Gaurav Mathur, Erik Biemans, Tony, Michelle, Katie and Josh Pedretti, Sunny Patel, Hoai Nam Tran, Stina Boberg, Kack-Kyun Kim and Michael Braun-Boghos.

[@wheresmyeyebrow1608]

Glad they went with a 'best in categories' rather than just 'best overall' : D

[@wilfweNightsky]

That's cuz there's no best overall when animals specialize in specific survival needs

[@BedardJ]

Yeah I was thinking that when I clicked on this!

[@bamb8s436]

@@Stevie-J Arguably blue human eyes

[@tahaabi]

Best overall is a subjective outlook I’d venture to say your evaluation on who’s best overall is as good as theirs

[@vedantsridhar8378]

In a thermistor the resistance decreases if the temperature increases. If it’s colder, it has a low resistance. They are usually made of semiconductor materials, typically metallic oxides, using cobalt, manganese, or nickel. It is used in many places, for example in baby incubators and computer fans. The hotter a computer is, the more the computer fans rotate, thus they cool the computer down. Since in hot temperatures a thermistor has a low resistance, the potential difference is low. This causes the potential difference across the fan to be higher, rotating the fan faster. Potential difference is always shared across components in a closed circuit. However, the lesser the resistance of a component, the lesser the potential difference across it is shared, causing the other component(s) to have a higher potential difference across themselves, making them function more. This is how computer fans rotate faster when the computer heats up, cooling the computer down. In baby incubator also when the temperature increases, the lamp turns on and alarm starts ringing. The reason is exactly why in a computer fan starts working when temperature increases. Baby temperature has to be maintained, so the alarm calls the doctors for fixing the problem.

[@dorothywasrighttho5129]

In others words, the human eyes is a jack of all trades, but a master of none. Edit: before you want to comment about the rest of the quote ("but better than a master of one"), please read the others comments so you will know that 40 people already said the same as you. I got it already. So did everyone else.

[@sana_-_-]

@@Stevie-J Who? Birds?

[@wilfweNightsky]

We consider ourselves as a jack of all trades when really we're just using ourselves as basis to understand things beyond our reach. After all, we can only know with what tools we have. But we are just as special as every other animal is. We just excel in ideas and changing our surroundings.

[@HopeRock425]

@@wilfweNightsky no, comparing to all other animals, we are about a bit worse than average in every point for eye sight.

[@anatine_banana_69]

Eh, better than being the master of only one.

[@jsnrvst]

@@HopeRock425 That's just not accurate. No other animal beats humans when it comes to creativity, abstract thinking, tool creation and usage, or ability to communicate.

[@cmdrtianyilin8107]

As Lord ZeFrank said, "Try to imagine a color that you cannot imagine. This is how a mantis shrimp do."

[@widdledragon]

Like a lactose intolerant cheese maker, the cuttlefish is aware of its own gifts.

[@Mikee512]

Ze Frank did a TED talk, too! (If you didn't know).

[@pegmay7209]

@@Mikee512 Link?

[@dio6903]

@@pegmay7209 kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZSspWCnh7Z1pas

[@allendepacheco3419]

"Now do it nine more times."

[@Jobe-13]

Imagine being able to see peoples’ body heat or see an ant crawling up a tree from 600 feet away. That’d be trippy.

[@roofpizza1250]

I have poor eyesight and the doc fit me with contacts after surgery and I saw better than 20/20. I didn't like it. Was fine for driving but up close it was unsettling.

[@Jobe-13]

@@roofpizza1250 interesting

[@Jobe-13]

@@roofpizza1250 you were seeing too much detail lol

[@roofpizza1250]

@@Jobe-13 If I had OCD I woulda killed myself cleaning.

[@Jobe-13]

@@roofpizza1250 Oof.

[@arghadeepchakraborty2209]

The Animation as always..was a " Sight " to behold 🙂

[@ooghaboogha4362]

🙂

[@user-lm6np8vn7d]

🙂

[@joshuagcwong734]

Another awesome video on eyes. I really like these comparison videos of human traits against the animal kingdom. Top notch animation as always! 🤌

[@daisuke910]

Eye know!!!!

[@danielpautu7987]

Eye thought so too 👍

[@1.4142]

The reason for the color change in reindeer eyes is because during the winter, its pupil remains permanently dilated, causing increased pressure in the eye that compresses the structure of the tapetum lucidum. The constant pressure squeezes fluid out between the tapetum lucidum's collagen fibers, and they become more tightly packed. The spacing causes the reflection of shorter wavelengths, hence the blue color. In the summer, the pressure is relieved and the eye reflects a yellow to green wavelength.

[@KiX-K4T13]

Have I mentioned how much I love and appreciate this channel? You guys make me a better, smarter person with your clean cut presentations and smooth delivery of information. Thank you for all your hard work.

[@AbdulMalik-xg2fo]

Blah Blah Blah You Are Right ....

[@AbdulMalik-xg2fo]

Hehehehe Sorry dont mind

[@daoneoddkid8652]

@@AbdulMalik-xg2fo r u 7

[@caseyrayharris.esquire489]

Much love y'all

[@blueghost.]

“When it comes to the sharpest vision, birds of prey *soar* above the competition.” Lovely, just lovely….

[@tushshubro]

Similarly, “…on the fly”

[@Pixintendo]

Many times I imagine what it would be like if a person’s entire retina were like a macula. We can’t even imagine, because if we could see perfectly with the whole retina, which zone would our brain be paying attention to? The one thing is that our vision, even in such a limited version, requires a lot of capacity for the brain, so I can’t even imagine seeing it sharply in every corner.

[@Jodiescox]

I completely agree!

[@NewtsOnAcid]

One would need to have a brain (or brains) that could focus on more than one thing at a time. We are limited by our mental capacity. If we were suddenly given a dozen more color receptors, our brains wouldn't know what to do with them. It would have to allocate more processing power to the new eyes to be able to use them, leaving less room for other processes.

[@DoomFinger511]

I don't think any animal uses the whole eye the same way. We can't perceive everything we see at once. It is mainly focused on what is in front of us. That is why you can't read a book off in your peripheral vision. The front of our eye is better at seeing color and detail while the sides pick up motion better. Also we are blind in the dead center of our eye because of the space needed for the optic nerve, but our other eye makes up the difference and our brain fuses the 2 images together.

[@iruns1246]

If we do have that capability, then we wouldn't need the ability to move our eye balls, which is one of the main tool we use in nonverbal communication. We are very sensitive to small changes in gaze, and dogs are sensitive to ours. But curiously, even our closest cousin, the chimps are not. So it MIGHT be the case that if we had that ability, we wouldn't have been so good at socializing and cooperating, and hence wouldn't have been the dominant species.

[@CinderellaSequeira]

The music is so haunting, calming and beautiful! Thank you TedEd!

[@metrostudios21]

TED ED Promissed Excellency.

[@gaburieruR]

The music is so pretty on this one! My admiration to the sound team!

[@ThePcorpuz]

I think my mom has the best eye sight. I’m looking for something and can’t find it, but when she helps me look for it, she seems to see it right at that second.

[@bari2883]

Yup. Mum where’s my?

[@shambhaviacharya5425]

This is just too relatable!

[@davida.8497]

What a beautiful animation style! Ted-Ed is absolutely brilliant

[@taiqt7491]

I would love it if you guys did more book recommendations, I read Lord of the Flies because of your great video in it.

[@LexFriedmanClips]

book recommendations are some of their best videos

[@paramalla524]

I agree I agree I agree

[@TamWam_]

@TommyGaming 🅥 BEGONE, BOT

[@amandadane868]

@@Stevie-J On which platform?

[@amandadane868]

@@Stevie-J Yikes! The only thing I can of is that they banned the quote based on the book it came from due to the faulty algorithm.

[@irina-zk8iq]

Background music is so calming.

[@alienume3773]

This channel is the greatest thing that happened to me! I am someone who tends to question soo many things in this crazy world, and often get weird looks for that. But this channel has awnsered the even most bizarre things ever, which i might have never thought of asking nor thinking of! I love learning new things and this channel has been feeding me with information every single time. Keep up the great work :)

[@DeMarcus_IIIbackatitagain]

It has been like what 9 years and this man's voice still hasn't changed one bit... That's true dedication to a channel

[@flaro38]

I think this animation is your best yet. Colorful, precise, elegant, smooth. A masterpiece.

[@setcheck67]

Something I would of liked them to touch on is that humans actually can see UV, but it requires not having an eye lens, because the lens blocks UV. Famously the painter Monet had his left eye lens removed and his entire world changed with the ability to see UV light.

[@zeaxanthinepoxidase]

but having your eye lens removed is not convenient at all, so i dont know if that counts

[@m-h1217]

That doesn't make sense. If you have to modify the eye to see an additional part of the spectrum then that eye can't see it.

[@thewildcardperson]

how do you remove it surgery

[@zumabbar]

@@m-h1217 i believe they mean that our eye/retina has the photoreceptors to detect lightwaves in the UV spectrum, but our lens filters these said lightwaves. it makes sense, and your statement is just semantic. Does an eye really need a lens for it to count as an eye? Did Monet still have two eyes after a lens was removed from one of its eye?

[@m-h1217]

@@zumabbar Yes, I understood the meaning of the statement, thank you very much. The comment states "humans actually can see UV, but it requires not having an eye lens" which doesn't makes sense as again, it literally states itself that unmodified humans can't see it. Therefore humans or rather normal humans can't see it. Pretty basic. "Does an eye really need a lens for it to count as an eye? Did Monet still have two eyes after a lens was removed from one of its eye?" This isn't relevant to what I said, an eye that naturally can't see a part of the spectrum can't see that part of the spectrum. The lens is part of the eye, so if you remove it, then you've modified the eye. When did I say that a modified eye isn't an eye?

[@chengyiq3066]

The animation, combined with the background music, makes everything seems so at peace & calm

[@lovely-yj6zy]

Thank you Ted Ed for making videos that contain a lot of information.

[@llfn1718]

Me struggling to read the title when I got the notification on my phone: "well its clearly not humans"

[@letsgetreal2501]

Love this topic, as well as all your videos on it. Really interesting to know about the huge spectrum of visual perception across species! Humans may not be the best, but we can rank decently in everything, and that may have given us a surprising advantage. Hats off to the animation, as usual!

[@madamebelle-]

This channel keeps answering questions I didn't ask, but I needed to know the answers to. Keep it up

[@arunkumaryadavkumar7360]

The way Ted brings knowledge for us is really great.☺️☺️☺️☺️

[@keisha.dechaca]

the animation of this video is amazing, nice job as usual ted-ed

[@ahlamazzouza]

This is just amazing the comparison and all the details Thanks Ted

[@Mazequax]

Lovely animation and style! Such a pleasure to watch!

[@hessiboi_]

this is my fave ted ed video its so whimsical

[@bag3lmonst3r72]

Wow. This video was a real eye-opener.

[@rollintweeds234]

Fascinating subject, sneaky-effective teaching, delightful animation and soundtrack. Thank you, TedEd

[@angelaliu3237]

Never really noticed until this video, but the background music fits the topic very well! Awesome job Ted-Ed, *see* you next time XD

[@katherineg9396]

Great video! A lot of new information and fun to look at. Thanks!

[@krisnovoselac744]

Brilliant. Information and extremely entertaining. Loved it.

[@CarthagoMike]

The sequel we have all been waiting for!

[@ishshshiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii123]

Thank you Ted Ed ☺️

[@belitprieto9635]

Loved the music, visually this was a great video and very explicative!

[@markuslanggeng]

Yay, another eye series! I'm loving this.

[@jordanwong7261]

I am a college student who is supposed to be getting my work done, but I found this video very informational and very much worth my time.

[@Jaqen_Hghar]

Great video. Thanks!

[@ayrazee]

At expo 2020 in the Russia pavilion you could see through see through the eyes of other animals and creatures it’s very cool! Another reason to visit the amazing Expo 2020

[@8lec_R]

This had such beautiful animation

[@tommywei4165]

I found this so interesting. Thanks.

[@salmalambertseter4488]

I was wondering if you could make a video explaining menopause. Your videos are very educational and I love it :D

[@nbrown6648]

Fantastically educational.

[@lololo4764]

The music was gorgeous ❤

[@custard-bun]

Gotta love the spookfish.

[@akarillgould9425]

I get very excited everytime ted-ed posts a new video…

[@myheartbeat2.0]

TED-ED Is Here ❤️❤️ 👍🏻

[@BienvenidoAlHoloceno]

Fascinating video, beautiful music and animation.

[@anuragneelam8527]

The music was so magical, I wish I could listen to it without the lesson next time when I try and relax

[@thomasdarling2553]

This is really eye opening

[@MrsJudithWright]

Fascinating. Brilliant topic. I am even more in awe of nature. Now I know it's a fly's photoreceptors that make them so hard to catch.

[@eduAC.]

Amazing music in this video. Loved it

[@MasterOrona]

We went to the aquarium in Branson Missouri recently and they have a peacock mantis shrimp. It was so cool. Easily my favorite there now I can explain how amazing their vision is. We don’t even know completely.

[@RAMBO14001]

Now this is an extremely well made demonstrational video. Felt more like a video-game.

[@ratburgler]

Life is a game.

[@blackrose_k8062]

The music in this vid is gorgeous

[@borisbarrias]

The soundtrack is amazing

[@johnson8711]

Great video luv u ted ed

[@bubblegum7489]

Once u start watching Ted Ed u can't stop

[@jayski9410]

I've always thought of vision as a compound sense. There is an image portion, a color portion, a motion portion, and then the processing software within our brain that blends and evaluates those inputs. And its possible for each of those to fail or work without the other. While in college I knew a guy who had what we called "blind sight". He couldn't see image or color but he could see motion. If nothing was moving around him, he was completely blind. But something moved, he could literally point to it or follow it. If it stopped, it's as if it disappeared to him.

[@nouranibrahim10]

I love the music in the background ❤️❤️❤️

[@vipj]

Please make more informative videos on Animal Kingdom.

[@gabor6259]

This video is so... eye-opening. *CSI music plays*

[@user-ei6ew5uq8z]

I learned a lot of things that I didn't know before:-)!

[@nyantaro1]

What a nice video!!

[@ellacutuse9942]

I adored the animation in this video

[@sanjaykumar-wh9ej]

If someone can explain bio so easily in such beautiful animations then that video deserves a like

[@RonDgasz]

The animation and illustrations are

[@deanab-se5op]

BESTEST ANIMATION VIDEO BY TED ED. THE COLOURS 😍

[@salilsahani2721]

Thank you :)

[@nadiastewart30]

Creation is just awe inspiring

[@Simp_Zone]

Whom ever made the music and Addison Anderson's voice is just perfect together :D

[@csonkaperdido]

Been waiting FOREVER for a video about the Brownsnout Spookfish, which, imo, is secondary only to the Shortnose Batfish.

[@UtterStupiditty]

Soar above the competition. Nice!!

[@AdarshMadrecha]

Awesome video

[@rachelmorrow9042]

TED: Have you ever wondered which animal has the best eyesight? Me: No, but now I do

[@aceace5641]

I like the music.

[@madenita1693]

Interesting information

[@isabelhuang_1]

The animation is beautiful

[@bakchormeeman7864]

Well done guys

[@indianintuitiontarot5]

Good information....

[@despawn7663]

MY grandpa was partially blind but he could always see my shoelaces were untied. Amazing adaptation.

[@bhimsharma9226]

Really awesome

[@Copybook]

These are only a few channels that KZbin is still alive as a decent platform

[@magneto228]

great music in this vid

[@michaelstrlight445]

Birds must have incredible eye site and processing power to be able to fly through the middle of a tree

[@adityaaryan1610]

Suggestion for next video: "Which animal has the best hearing/smell" or the "amazing diversity of animals ears"

[@johnster02]

now i’m bummed because i’m missing out on all this extra color and great eye sight and night vision. bruh

[@jeffw8218]

This is why there are so many different types of cameras and telescopes. Optics are fascinating across the board.

[@hernanaguilar8303]

Super cool for the glasses 🤓 that allow people see colors for the first time

[@nevermindnever8363]

U guys should link the music if possible because the music impresses me almost everytime :)

[@olioliveoliver1513]

I was really hoping for the mantis shrimp colors to be discussed and Ted-Ed didn't disappoint. But now I wonder what eyes that were great in every catagory would look like

[@ScorpionClaws789]

That would be impossible, as being good in some categories nessecitates being worse in others. The closest we have to a perfect eye is a camera

[@sirk603]

Colours are so fascinating and weird. Did you know that it’s impossible to know if we’re all seeing the same colour. For example, we all agree grass is green, but we don’t know if this “green” looks the same for everybody.

[@alexandr.stolpovskych]

Fantastic!

[@kellychan3023]

Well this video is convenient. I was thinking about searching about this.

[@laraibrahim5013]

The music is perfect 🥰

[@emanuel8935]

Another eye catching video

[@stanmarsh4203]

2:04 I would like to agree but I thought the dragon fly's would have the sharpest of sight 🤔