Inverse problem in optics

The inverse problem in optics refers to the fundamentally ambiguous mapping between sources of retinal stimulation and the retinal images that are caused by those sources.^[1]

As an example, the size of an object, the orientation of the object, and its distance from the observer are conflated in the retinal image. For any given projection on the retina, there are an infinite number of pairs of object size, orientation and distance that could have given rise to that projection on the retina.

References

^ Zygmunt, Pizlo (2001), "Perception viewed as an inverse problem", Vision Research, 41 (24): 3145–3161, doi:10.1016/S0042-6989(01)00173-0 {{citation}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

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[1] Zygmunt, Pizlo (2001), "Perception viewed as an inverse problem", Vision Research, 41 (24): 3145–3161, doi:10.1016/S0042-6989(01)00173-0 {{citation}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

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