Things I've been asked about...

Question: What about the Rainbow Colormap for Volume Visualization?

Question: Big data analytics-- structured vs. non-structured data

Question: Does flicker sensitivity vary with age?

Answer:

Flicker sensitivity is just another way of saying sensitivity to temporal modulations of light. These temporal modulations are mediated by filters in the visual system. And, these temporal filters are more sensitive in the periphery (out of the corner of your eye) than in central fixation (looking directly at something). The larger the display, or the closer you are to it, the more it fills the periphery, the more these sensitive filters are stimulated, the more you perceive flicker. In one study, we found that an enormous factor in temporal sensitivity is age. The older you get, the more sluggish your temporal filters become, the less sensitive you become to flicker. Here's an interesting story: When I was at IBM I developed a technique for measuring perceived flicker on displays. The senior manager of the development team was skeptical about this work because he didn't see any flicker on his displays. Amazing but true, the young engineers on the team saw flicker, but were afraid to tell the manager (although they were happy to tell me!). Not so surprising, when we finally got around to testing him, this older manager's flicker threshold was REALLY high and the young engineers had very low thresholds!