Christie Kerr of the School of Psychology, University of Glasgow, and Rob Jenkins of the Department of Psychology at the University of New York worked together to study the usefulness of capturing images reflected in the pupils of one’s eye. They found that “the incredible level of detail in modern digital photographs were able to pick out the tiny reflections of faces hidden in the eyes of the subject.”
“The pupil of the eye is like a black mirror,” said Jenkins. He and Kerr “recovered the images of bystanders that were as small as 27 pixels across … Yet when presented to panelists in a face-matching task, observers were able to match the diminutive faces 71 percent of the time. When the faces were familiar ones, people recognized identity correctly 84 percent of the time.”
The implications for the usefulness of recovering such images are varied, including criminal investigation. “The researchers say that in crimes in which the victims are photographed, such as hostage taking or child sex abuse, reflections in the eyes of the photographic subject could help to identify perpetrators.”
Such research brings to mind the old nursery song, “Oh be careful little eyes what you see.” In a very literal sense, our eyes reflect what they take in.
What do others see when they search your eyes for evidence of where and with whom you’ve been? If a reflection can reveal a perpetrator, it can also reveal a Deliverer.
Reflect the glory of God by focusing your gaze on the grace and love revealed in the person of Christ.
“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18, NIV).
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[Original illustration at this number was moved to HolwickID #10561]