Saccadic masking

Do you know how you feel when you're watching a fun movie or TV show and you're so into it that you don't even notice everything else around you? That's kind of like how your eyes work when you're looking at something!

Your eyes can move really quickly from one thing to another thing you want to look at. Scientists call this quick movement a saccade. But when your eyes are making those quick saccades, they can't see anything during that time. It's like when you're running and you can't really see what's around you, because you're moving so fast!

Scientists call this time when your eyes can't see things saccadic masking. It's like your eyes are covering up everything during that quick moment so you don't even realize you can't see anything!

But don't worry, your brain helps you out by filling in the missing pieces with what it thinks is there, so you don't miss anything important. That way, you can keep watching your movie or TV show without even realizing your eyes are doing all these quick movements!