January 5, 2022 by
Chris Sasaki - A&S News
Researchers at the University of Toronto have shown that our ability to quickly assess threats in our environment comes from our perception of discrete linear features in a scene rather than details or objects within it.
The collaborators suggest that this response is an evolutionary trait that may have evolved in humans and other species because it helped identify potential danger quickly; i.e. individuals with this visual skill were more likely to avoid danger and hence pass the trait on to their offspring.