Steve Jackson Games - Site Navigation
Home General Info Follow Us Search Illuminator Store Forums What's New Other Games Ogre GURPS Munchkin Our Games: Home

Go Back   Steve Jackson Games Forums > Roleplaying > GURPS

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 03-30-2017, 11:07 AM   #11
KarlKost
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Brazil
Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week (#38): Dark Vision, Night Vision

Night Vision is what cats and owls have. Dark Vision is what vampires have. Its simple actually, it was never a problem to me
KarlKost is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-30-2017, 11:16 AM   #12
Flyndaran
Untagged
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week (#38): Dark Vision, Night Vision

Dark vision is vision without light, even though vision is defined as the detection of light. That's why some readers initially suffer confusion, I think.
__________________
Beware, poor communication skills. No offense intended. If offended, it just means that I failed my writing skill check.
Flyndaran is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-30-2017, 11:41 AM   #13
whswhs
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week (#38): Dark Vision, Night Vision

Quote:
Originally Posted by Flyndaran View Post
Dark vision is vision without light, even though vision is defined as the detection of light. That's why some readers initially suffer confusion, I think.
There's an ambiguity here. On one hand, vision involves processes taking place in the eyes and the optic nerves that involve light. On the other hand, vision involves processes taking place in the occipital lobes that construct spatial imagery and don't directly involve light. Dark vision seems to be the latter without the former.
__________________
Bill Stoddard

I don't think we're in Oz any more.
whswhs is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-30-2017, 11:47 AM   #14
Kalzazz
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week (#38): Dark Vision, Night Vision

I'm surprised infra vision isn't mentioned
Kalzazz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-30-2017, 11:52 AM   #15
vicky_molokh
GURPS FAQ Keeper
 
vicky_molokh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week (#38): Dark Vision, Night Vision

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kalzazz View Post
I'm surprised infra vision isn't mentioned
Infravision, Ultravision and Hyperspectral Vision seem to be a somewhat different group.
__________________
Vicky 'Molokh', GURPS FAQ and uFAQ Keeper
vicky_molokh is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-30-2017, 11:57 AM   #16
Kalzazz
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week (#38): Dark Vision, Night Vision

Ah. I've found it very common for Infra vision to exist in same categories as low light vision and dark vision. Also very common to see low light vision and infra vision as alternate a b ilities
Kalzazz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-30-2017, 12:24 PM   #17
Anthony
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week (#38): Dark Vision, Night Vision

Quote:
Originally Posted by whswhs View Post
There's an ambiguity here. On one hand, vision involves processes taking place in the eyes and the optic nerves that involve light. On the other hand, vision involves processes taking place in the occipital lobes that construct spatial imagery and don't directly involve light. Dark vision seems to be the latter without the former.
Hm. I realize there's some ambiguity. Dark vision means you can't see 'colors' in the dark. Does that mean colorblind, or does it also mean you cannot distinguish black from white? Because being able to distinguish anything specifically light-related in darkness is inherently supernatural.
__________________
My GURPS site and Blog.
Anthony is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-30-2017, 12:41 PM   #18
Flyndaran
Untagged
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon
Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week (#38): Dark Vision, Night Vision

Quote:
Originally Posted by whswhs View Post
There's an ambiguity here. On one hand, vision involves processes taking place in the eyes and the optic nerves that involve light. On the other hand, vision involves processes taking place in the occipital lobes that construct spatial imagery and don't directly involve light. Dark vision seems to be the latter without the former.
That seems like it would then include sonar as Dark Vision, which is not how I think most interpret the advantage's intent.
It's supernatural, so most such subtleties will have to be setting dependent anyway, I guess.
__________________
Beware, poor communication skills. No offense intended. If offended, it just means that I failed my writing skill check.
Flyndaran is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-30-2017, 01:22 PM   #19
whswhs
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week (#38): Dark Vision, Night Vision

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kalzazz View Post
Ah. I've found it very common for Infra vision to exist in same categories as low light vision and dark vision. Also very common to see low light vision and infra vision as alternate a b ilities
When I looked into this when writing Enhanced Senses, I found that the category of "infravision," including the standard Basic Set definition, is scientifically incoherent. On one hand there's near infrared, which occupies wavelengths just slightly longer than red light, and can be resolved to nearly as high precision, but you need extremely high temperatures to get NIR emissions; if the sun's below the horizon it will be nearly as dark in the NIR as in the visible. Living organisms don't emit meaningful levels of NIR. On the other hand there's thermal infrared, which homeothermic organisms do emit—but which has much longer wavelengths and thus very low resolution; it's really more of a ranging and targeting sense than a "seeing" one. For one thing, it can't trigger chemical reactions directly; you need arrangements like what pit vipers have.

Since we don't see IR anyway, we tend to lump it all together. But there are real differences in what can emit different EM bands, and what kinds of physiological systems can detect them.
__________________
Bill Stoddard

I don't think we're in Oz any more.
whswhs is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-30-2017, 01:23 PM   #20
whswhs
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
Default Re: [Basic] Advantage of the Week (#38): Dark Vision, Night Vision

Quote:
Originally Posted by Flyndaran View Post
That seems like it would then include sonar as Dark Vision, which is not how I think most interpret the advantage's intent.
It's supernatural, so most such subtleties will have to be setting dependent anyway, I guess.
Does sonar use the occipital lobes? Or does it use the acoustic processing systems in the temporal lobes?
__________________
Bill Stoddard

I don't think we're in Oz any more.
whswhs is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
advantage, advantage of the week, dark vision, night vision, vision, [basic]

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Fnords are Off
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:56 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.