Monocular stereopsis, pinholes, and the perils of classroom theorizing: A response to McIntosh (2025).
Abstract
Monocular stereopsis is a compelling perceptual effect wherein viewing a picture of a 3-dimensional scene with one eye through an aperture generates a perceptual impression of depth similar to binocular stereopsis. Here I provide a critique of a recently published report on the topic in the journal i-Perception (McIntosh, 2025). In the report, the author claims to adjudicate on explanations of the monocular stereopsis effect and the phenomenology of stereopsis more broadly construed. The author suggests, based on an informal test comparing pinhole and aperture viewing of a picture during a fifteen-minute classroom lecture break, that the monocular-aperture effect is best explained by a 100-year-old description of the phenomenon. I show that McIntosh’s report reveals a lack of understanding of the modern empirical facts and theoretical concepts relevant to this scientific debate and neglects the rudimentary demands of conducting an interpretable perceptual test.
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BibTeX
@misc{vishwanath2026monocular,
title = {{Monocular stereopsis, pinholes, and the perils of classroom theorizing: A response to McIntosh (2025).}},
author = {Dhanraj Vishwanath},
howpublished = {PsyArXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.31234/osf.io/v3kz7_v3},
url = {https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/v3kz7_v3/},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Monocular stereopsis, pinholes, and the perils of classroom theorizing: A response to McIntosh (2025).
AU - Dhanraj Vishwanath
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/03
PB - PsyArXiv
DO - 10.31234/osf.io/v3kz7_v3
UR - https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/v3kz7_v3/
AB - Monocular stereopsis is a compelling perceptual effect wherein viewing a picture of a 3-dimensional scene with one eye through an aperture generates a perceptual impression of depth similar to binocular stereopsis. Here I provide a critique of a recently published report on the topic in the journal i-Perception (McIntosh, 2025). In the report, the author claims to adjudicate on explanations of the monocular stereopsis effect and the phenomenology of stereopsis more broadly construed. The author suggests, based on an informal test comparing pinhole and aperture viewing of a picture during a fifteen-minute classroom lecture break, that the monocular-aperture effect is best explained by a 100-year-old description of the phenomenon. I show that McIntosh’s report reveals a lack of understanding of the modern empirical facts and theoretical concepts relevant to this scientific debate and neglects the rudimentary demands of conducting an interpretable perceptual test.
ER -