What is your dominant eye? Let's talk about this simply!

Are you right-handed? Or left-handed? Almost all of us have a dominant, or more used, hand. Also, did you know that many of us also have a dominant eye? Don't be alarmed when you hear this. This is not a disease or a defect. This is a very normal, natural thing. So today, let's talk about what this dominant eye, or in medical terms (Dominant Eye) , is.

Simply put, what is this dominant eye?

It's very simple. Being dominant means that your brain gives a little more priority to the information coming from one of your eyes than the other. Just like you have both a right and a left hand, you rely on one hand more for things like writing or hitting a ball. That's how it is.

Think of it this way. You're cooking on two stoves at the same time. You're cooking rice on one stove, and you're cooking a curry on the other. Your main focus is on one. You're also looking at the other, but it's a little off to the side. The brain uses the images from both eyes in a similar way. It prioritizes the image from the main eye, while suppressing the image from the other eye. But it doesn't completely ignore it.

But this eye dominance is not always the same. Sometimes, you may prefer to use your non-dominant eye for certain tasks. There is also evidence that the brain can automatically switch the dominant eye to suit the situation. This switching is so subtle that we don't even notice it.

Why do we have such a prominent eye?

We don't just have two eyes. The ability for both eyes to work together, or stereopsis , or in our language , stereovision, is very important to us. Even though the angle difference between your eyes is very small, your brain uses that small difference to calculate the distance to an object. This is essential for depth perception.

But our brains like to be very efficient. So, it's easier for the brain to prioritize information coming from one eye than to constantly process information coming from both eyes at the same level and expend a lot of energy. That's why we have a dominant eye.

Are there main types of eyes?

Yes, depending on the work we do, what we see, the main eye can be divided into different types. We can mainly talk about three types.

• Motor/Sighting Dominance: This is what we usually call the "dominant eye." This is the eye that takes the lead in directing our gaze when we aim to look at something. It's like the eye we automatically use when we're trying to take a photo with a camera or look through binoculars.

• Sensory Dominance: This is a bit more complicated. Imagine what happens if you show your eyes two different images. Your brain chooses one of the two images and gives it priority. The eye that gives priority is the sensory dominant eye. Eye doctors use special tests to check this, such as the binocular rivalry test .

• Acuity Dominance: Acuity is how clearly you can see. We call "6/6" or (20/20 vision) the best visual acuity. Some people have slight differences in the clarity of vision between their eyes. When this happens, the eye that sees more clearly can sometimes become dominant.

How do I find my dominant eye? It's very easy!

You can also easily find out which eye is your sighting dominant at home. This is called the Miles test . Let's see how to do it.

1. Choose something far away: First, choose a small object that is a few meters away from you. For example, a light switch on the wall, a clock, or a picture is good.

2. Make a hole with both hands: Now place your hands together and use your thumbs and index fingers to make a small triangular hole.

3. Look at the target: With your arms fully extended forward, look at the object you have chosen through the hole you have made. Aim so that the object is in the middle of the hole.

4. Close your left eye: Now, close only your left eye while keeping your right eye open. What happens? If you can still see the object through the hole, your right eye is most likely your dominant eye.

5. Close your right eye: Okay, now open your left eye and close your right eye. Does that object seem to jump out of the hole? Otherwise, if you can still see the object inside the hole with only your left eye open, your left eye may be your dominant eye.

But not everyone has a dominant eye. According to some studies, about 7% of people don't have a dominant eye. This means they don't use the same eye for tasks like looking through binoculars or through a keyhole. So don't worry about this.

Do the main hand and main eye have to be on the same side?

Not at all. Having your dominant eye and dominant hand on opposite sides is called cross- handedness . This is not that rare. While most people have it on the same side, there are plenty of people who have it on opposite sides.

You can get a good idea of ​​this from the table below. These are the results of a study conducted on more than 10,000 people.

You can see from this, right? It's common to be right-handed but left-eyed. And there are also left-handed but right-eyed people.

Should I talk to a doctor about this?

Normally, it's not necessary at all. As I said before, having a dominant eye is not a disease. It's just a natural feature of our body.

However, if you have any problems with your vision, or if you feel that this dominant eye is causing you any discomfort, there is nothing wrong with talking to a doctor about it.

Most of the time, this doesn't affect your daily life in any way, so don't worry about it unnecessarily.