
3.2 Acuity and Contour
55
Fig. 3 The Benary cross. (From J. Beck, "Surface Color Perception," p. 44, Plate 2.
Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, 1972.)
3.2 ACUITY AND CONTOUR
When visual stimuli have complex space or time patterns, it becomes more
difficult to predict their detectability. Such predictions would be relatively
easy if the VS were linear, i.e., if the effect of a composite stimulus were the
sum of the effects of the parts. There would then, for example, be a simple
tradeoff between the intensity, size, and duration of a stimulus, e.g., one could
compensate for a decrease in intensity by increasing area or duration.
(Withi ...