Job #1- Line Illuminator
“Suddenly, he heard a sharp report and something struck the water smartly within a few inches of his head, spattering his face with spray. He heard the second report, and saw one of the sentinels with his rifle at his shoulder, a light cloud of blue smoke rising from the muzzle. The man in the water saw the eye of the man on the bridge gazing into his own through the sights of the rifle. He observed that it was a gray eye and remembered having read that gray eyes were keenest, and that all famous marksmen had them. Nevertheless, this one had missed.” (Chapter 3, page 16)
I found
it interesting that the short story said, “He observed that it was a gray eye
and remembered having read that gray eyes were keenest, and that all famous
marksmen had them.” Because there are more people with brown eyes and gray
eyes, I wondered if there was a specific reason the author wrote gray eyes
rather than brown eyes.
So, I
decided to look up if people with gray eyes are actually better marksmen than people
with other eye colors. Interestingly,
this idea is not just a myth/theory, but a semi-proven fact. There was a science article published in 1926
called the “Applied Colloid Chemistry: General Theory.” In the article, it said that the people with
blue or gray eyes were better marksmen than people with dark eye colors, which
was found by observing people in boot camps.
However, the article also said that 2/3 of the 100,000 white soldiers
had blue or gray eyes, making the gray eyes seem less rare, which is not true.
Finally,
another fact I found about people with light colored eyes is that they might
see better in the dark than people with dark colored eyes. It is because the darker the eye, the more
pigment they have. Pigment filters light
better, but might cause them to have slightly less visibility in the dark. Whereas, the people with light colored eyes
have less pigment, causing them to be more sensitive to light, which might
allow them to see slightly better in the dark.
So, are gray eyed people better marksmen, I don’t know. I didn’t read any studies that firmly proved
this theory. I guess it’s up for
debate.
Bravo, Isaac. I'm impressed you took the time to research the topic. This is something we discuss in class if we have time.
ReplyDeleteSo were you surprised at the ending?
That is really interesting Isaac. I didn't realize there was any science behind that statement at all. It would be interesting to know if that is completely true or not. It is also interesting though that as he was being shot at he noticed the color of the gun man's eye.
ReplyDeleteI also just read the description of Peyton again and it describes his eyes as "large and dark gray" as well. This may be part of the reason he noticed the other mans eyes more than if he had different color eyes himself. I wonder if he himself was a good marksmen. What are you guys' thoughts?
ReplyDeleteOoo that’s so interesting!! I agree that Peyton noticing the other man’s eyes might be a hint at him being a good marksmen. Of course it could just be a coincidence, but it might somehow be a glimpse of Peyton’s past?
DeleteThat's a good observation. I didn't catch that at all. I'd imagine that Peyton would be a good marksmen considering he lives on a farm in the country, if not because of his gray eyes.
DeleteThat's super interesting. To me it seems that if people with lighter eyes are more sensitive to light, then they'd actually be worse marksmen during the day, since they would find it significantly harder to see clearly on a bright day. But I'm not exactly an optometrist or anything.
ReplyDeleteThat’s true, darker eyes give one the ability to absorb light during bright days in order to see more clearly, while lighter eyes do the opposite. I to wonder why grey eyes were the model for a good marksmen.
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