#afterimage effect

But that's irrelevant to what I wanted to say.

Fechner also discovered afterimages. Afterimages are what happen when you stare at the sun or a bright light for a bit and then you look somewhere else and still see a light in the center of your vision. You know those forwards you get where you look at a weird blob for 90 seconds and then you look at a blank wall or a blank screen and see Jesus or Elvis or something? That's the afterimage effect.

But here's the best part: Fechner got so caught up in his studies of afterimages that he started staring at the sun longer and longer, becoming mesmerized by the effect. He slowly caused lasting damage to his eyes and became blind, or close to it. From there he went into a downward spiral of neurosis and became an invalid for the rest of his life, suffering from depressive symptoms.