Phosphene is, in simple words the light produced by our eyes and brain on their own. It is not something new, even ancient Greeks knew about this beautiful phenomenon. In fact, the word phosphene comes from the Greek words phos (light) and phainein (to show). They believed it was a fire inside us. (None other than) Plato wrote “Such fire as has the property, not of burning, but of yielding a gentle light they (the Gods) contrived should become the proper body of each day”. Today, science explains phosphenes as visual signals interpreted by the primary visual cortex (V1) of our brain as a result of certain stimulations such as a blow to our head or pressure applied to our eye balls or certain psychedelic drugs. These signals often originate from eyes but can be from elsewhere in the cranial region. So in reality, like fireflies, cells within our eyes can emit biophotons, or biologically produced light particles which travels to the brain to be interpreted as our very own light show.
Phosphenes appear in varying shapes, patterns – stars for many of us – and colours including pink, blue, green & yellow (Peter Schiller, MIT). They only appear for a brief period and could often have a highly dynamic visual presentation. Even though many of us don’t stop to think what they are, we all see them quite frequently.
There is an air of mystery around these little splashes of light. In December 2006, a European astronaut Christner Fuglesang spending his first night on board ISS in his sleeping bag was jolted awake by a sudden flash of a white light surrounded by a faint halo. He has been treated with a visual spectacle of phosphenes, it was later concluded. Astronauts while in space often report experiencing phosphenes, believed to be caused by the brain’s interactions with high-energy particles in the space radiation environment (Fuglesang C, Narici L, Picozza P, Sannita WG). Even Buzz Aldrin and Neil Amstrong reported encountering involuntary phosphenes during their 1969 mission to the moon. Prisoners sent to in dark cells or “holes” for long hours can experience them – for this reason, it is often called “prisoner’s cinema”.
Phosphenes may appear a trivial knowledge at first. Recent advancements made in understanding them to promise potential breakthroughs in finding cures for migraines and blindness. Phosphenes do not discriminate against the blind – it is something experienced by all of us in one way or another. Scientists are hoping phosphenes could help us understand blindness better and lead us to the still distant dream of artificial vision.
In marketing, it could have an interesting metaphorical significance. As this form of light is a result of neural activity and chemical responses in our brain, we could call it ours. Sun has nothing to do with it; at least nothing directly. It could suggest a spark or a flash of an idea that is very original. It could also stand for what we often loosely call as “insight”, a discovery of an intrinsic (such as perceptual) or extrinsic (such as behavioral) human tendency. For many marketers, stumbling upon a great idea or spotting an insight is nothing less than a light that opens up a road of possibilities or confidence. Its relevance in a marketing agency’s proposition is in suggesting its commitment to constantly looking for original ideas and pathbreaking insights that could possibly have the effect of what Fuglesang experienced onboard ISS.
