We frequently encounter groups of similar objects in our visual environment: a bed of flowers, a basket of oranges, a crowd of people. How does the visual system process such redundancy? Research shows that rather than code every element in a texture, the visual system favors a summary statistical representation of all the elements. The authors…

A visual mask was moved across text in synchrony with readers' eye movements. The size was varied so that either information in foveal or parafoveal vision was masked. Most visual information necessary for reading can be acquired during the first 50 msec that information is available during an eye fixation. (Author/RD)