Strobe on the Road
May 21st, 2011
This I got from “the men who stare at goats” by Jon Ronson:
back in the fifties, pilots would suddenl lose control of their craft; they suddenly were disoriented and became ill. Psychiatrist Dr. Bucha found that the rotor, flashing above the cockpit and causing the sun to blink on and off, was producing a strobelike effect. Called the Bucha effect, amygdala. Helicopter problem solved with tinted windows, visor on helmet, etc.
When you are driving along a road in late fall to early spring, when the sun is low in the sky morning or evening, you get the same effect, and you are well advised to look away, keep your eyes moving, and not get hypnotized by the flassing sun as you pass roadside trees.
Bucha effect; watch out.
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