“By creating we think, by living we learn” Patrick Geddes

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Prof. Nicholas Wade

Emeritus Professor

 

Contact Details:
Telephone: (+44)(1382) 384616
Email: Nick Wade

Postal Address:
School of Psychology
The University of Dundee
Dundee
DD1 4HN
Scotland, UK

 

Biography

My research covers three main topics: (1) The representation of space and motion in human vision. This has the aim of developing a model of space and motion perception in terms of nested frames of reference defined by the articulations of the body. The model has been expanded to incorporate orientation perception. (2) The history of research in visual science, with the aim of providing an account the development of experimental methods in vision, particularly those concerned with stereoscopic vision. (3) The relationship between visual science and visual art. This has the aim of fostering a closer association between the graphical language of art (particularly geometrical abstraction) and the interpretative language of science. I am involved in active international collaboration with Prof. S. Finger, Washington University, St. Louis; Dr. B. Lingelbach, University of Aalen; Prof. H. Ono, York University, Canada; and Prof. Marco Piccolino, University of Ferrara.

Visit Visionaries: a set of illustrations by Nicholas Wade of famous men in the the history of perception research.

Fooling the eyes: trompe l'oeil and reverse perspective - supplementary material (Mondrians animation and Cloudy Doors 3-D model to cut out and assemble) that accompanies Wade and Hughes (1999) Perception

Some of Nicholas Wade's art prints can be seen at http://www.opprints.co.uk.

 

 

Research Grouping

Language, Cognition and Perception

 

 

Research Interests

Perception provides the pivotal focus for my research, with particular emphasis on vision. This is expressed in experimental studies of motion perception, and the theories that address it. A model which combines perception and action has been developed with Prof. M. Swanston (Abertay University Dundee). It has been applied to the practical problems of endoscopic surgery, and collaboration with surgeons at Ninewells Hospital is in progress. Perception is one of the oldest areas of enquiry, and my interests in its history have grown of late, as is evident from the publications listed below. My initial interests were concerned with the history of binocular vision, but they have extended to vision generally and to other senses, too. The senses work together to provide a coherent representation of the external world, and the studies of one sense have often stimulated investigations into others. As an example, I have been examining the interplay between experiments on binocular vision and the impact they have had on those of binaural hearing. For many years, the vestibular system was thought to be concerned with hearing, and as a sense it has provided a particular enigma; it is only relatively recently that it has been considered a separate sense or indeed a group of senses. In historical terms, the practitioners of vision - artists - made many advances in the science of seeing. With the growth of science the two approaches to vision have tended to become divorced. In attempting to foster a closer kinship between visual science and visual art I have tried to use the graphical language of the artist to address issues that can be analysed by the scientist. This has resulted in collaborations with artists like Patrick Hughes and Calum Colvin.

 

 

Publications

Links	Publications
	Books
	Meulders, M., Piccolino, M., and Wade, N. J. (Eds.) (2010). Giuseppe Moruzzi, Ritratti di uno scienziato, Portraits of a scientist. Pisa: Edizioni ETS. ISBN 9788846724797. Details can be found at:http://www.edizioniets.com/Scheda.asp?N=9788846724977
	Wade, N. (2007) Circles: Science, Sense and Symbol. Dundee: Dundee University Press. ISBN 9781845860196. Details can be found at: http://www.dup.dundee.ac.uk/title/circles.html
	Piccolino, M., and Wade, N. J. (2007) Insegne Ambiguë. Percorsi Obliqui tra Storia, Scienza e Arte, da Galileo a Magritte. Pisa: Edizioni ETS. ISBN 9788846717368. Details can be found at: http://www.edizioniets.com/anteprime/insegne_ambigue/
	Wade, N. J., and Tatler, B. W. (2005) The Moving Tablet of the Eye: The Origins of Modern Eye Movement Research. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198566166 (Hbk.), 0198566174 (Pbk.) Details can be found at: http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Psychology/Cognitive/?ci=0198566166&view=usa
	Wade, N. J. (2005) Perception and Illusion. Historical Perspectives. New York: Springer. Details can be found at: http://www.springeronline.com/sgw/cda/frontpage/0,11855,4-10126-22-34957016-0,00.html
	Wade, N. J. (2003) (Ed.) Müller’s Elements of Physiology. 4 vols. Bristol: Thoemmes. Details can be found at http://www.thoemmes.com/science/muller_intro.htm
	Wade, N. J. (2003) Destined for Distinguished Oblivion: The Scientific Vision of William Charles Wells (1757-1817). New York: Kluwer/Plenum.
	Wade, N. J. (2002) (Ed.) Thomas Young's Lectures on Natural Philosophy and the Mechanical Arts (1807). Bristol: Thoemmes.
	Wade, N.J., and Swanston, M. (2001) Visual Perception: An Introduction. 2nd edition. London: Psychology Press.
	Wade, N. J., and Brozek, J. (2001) Purkinje's Vision. The Dawning of Neuroscience. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
	Wade, N. J. (2000) (Ed.) The Emergence of Neuroscience in the Nineteenth Century. 8 vols. London: Routledge/Thoemmes Press.
	Wade, N. J. (2000) (Ed.) Helmholtz's Treatise on Physiological Optics. 3 vols. Bristol: Thoemmes Press.
	Wade, N. J. (1998) A Natural History of Vision. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
	Wade, N. (1995) Psychologists in Word and Image. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. (Korean language edition translated by Sang-Hun Lee. Saegil Publishing Co. 1996.)
	Wade, N.J., and Swanston, M. (1991) Visual Perception: An Introduction. London: Routledge. (Israeli edition translated by Bat'sheva Mance. Ach, Tel Aviv. 1994.)
	Wade, N. (1990) Visual Allusions: Pictures of Perception. London: Lawrence Erlbaum. (Japanese language edition translated by Michiaki Kondo. Nakanishiya Shuppan, Tokyo. 1991.)
	Wade, N.J. (1983) (Ed.) Brewster and Wheatstone on Vision. London: Academic Press.
	Wade, N. (1982) The Art and Science of Visual Illusions. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. (Japanese language edition translated by Michiaki Kondo. Seishinshobo, Tokyo. 1988.)
	Articles and book chapters from 2000
	Tatler, B. W., Wade, N. J., Kwan, H., Findlay, J. M., and Velichkovsky, B. M. (2010). Yarbus, eye movements, and vision. i-Perception, 1(1), 7-27.Available at: http://i-perception.perceptionweb.com/fulltext/i01/i0382.pdf
	Wade, N.J. (2010). Literal visions. International Journal of Arts & Technology, 3, 251-274.
	Wade, N.J. (2010). Reid on perception. Perception, 39, 443-446.
	Wade, N.J. (2010). The Darwins and Wells: From revolution to evolution. Journal of the History of the Neurosciences, 19, 85-104.
	Wade, N.J. (2010). The science and art of the sixth sense. In F. Bacci and D. Melcher (Eds.) Art and the Senses. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 19-58.
	Wade, N.J., Campbell, R. N., Ross, H. E., and Lingelbach, B. (2010). Necker in Scotch Perspective. Perception, 39, 1-4.
	Wade, N.J., and Piccolino, M. (2009). Seeing stars. Perception, 38, 1581-1584.
	Wade, N.J. (2009). The search for a sixth sense: The cases for vestibular, muscle, and temperature senses. In D. Howes (Ed.) The Sixth Sense Reader. Oxford: Berg. pp. 55-86.
	Ono, H., and Wade, N.J. (2009). The paradoxes of parallaxes. Perception, 38, 915-916.
	Piccolino, M., and Wade, N.J. (2009). Galileo e i segni dei sensi. Sapere, August, 56-63.
	Wade, N.J., and Tatler, B.W. (2009). Did Javal measure eye movements during reading? Journal of Eye Movement Research, 2(5):5, 1-7. www.jemr.org/online/2/5/5
	Wade, N.J. (2009). Natural magicians. Perception, 38, 633-636.
	Ono, H., Wade, N.J., and Lillakas, L. (2009). Binocular vision: defining the historical directions. Perception, 38, 492-507.
	Wade, N.J. (2009). Galileo's vision. Cortex, 45, 793-794 and Cover illustration.
	Wade, N.J. (2009). Hartline's limulus. Cortex, 45, 695-696 and Cover illustration.
	Wade, N.J. (2009). Berkeley's confused vision. Perception, 38, 475-478.
	Wade, N.J. (2009). Berkeley's Essay. Perception, 38, 317-320.
	Wade, N.J. (2009). Beyond body experiences: phantom limbs, pain and the locus of sensation. Cortex, 45, 243-255.
	Wade, N.J. (2009). Sensory and perceptual disorders. In F. Boller, S. Finger, and K. Tyler (Eds.) Handbook of Clinical Neurology. Vol. 95. History of Neurology. 3rd series. Edinburgh: Elsevier. pp. 489-500.
	Wade, N.J. (2009). Allusions to visual representation. In M. Skov and O. Vartanian (Eds.) Neuroaesthetics. Amityville NY: Baywood Publishing. pp. 171-220.
	Wade, N. (2009). Scientists and artists as natural magicians. In Natural Magic. Edinburgh: Royal Scottish Academy, pp. 6.
	Tatler, B.W., Wade, N.J., and Kaulard, K. (2008). Examining art: dissociating pattern and perceptual influences on oculomotor behaviour. In B. Pinna (Ed.) Art and Perception. Towards a Visual Science of Art. Part 1. Leiden: Brill. pp. 249-268.
	Wade, N.J. (2008). Artful visions. In B. Pinna (Ed.) Art and Perception. Towards a Visual Science of Art. Part 1. Leiden: Brill. pp. 111-137.
	Wade, N.J. (2008). Blinking Sam Johnson's perception. Perception, 37, 1779-1782.
	Wade, N.J. (2008). Visual purple (Sehpurpur). Perception, 37, 1617-1620.
	Wade, N.J., and Ziefle, M. (2008). The surface and deep structure of the waterfall illusion. Psychological Research, 72, 593-600.
	Piccolino, M., and Wade, N.J. (2008). Galileo Galilei's vision of the senses. Trends in the Neurosciences, 31, 585-590.
	Wade, N. J. (2008) Visual red (Sehrot). Perception, 37, 1467-1470.
	Wade, N. J. (2008). Windows on the world. Daylight & Architecture, 7, 30-35.
	Piccolino, M., and Wade, N.J. (2008). Galileo’s eye: a new vision of the senses in the work of Galileo Galilei. Perception, 37, 1312-1340.
	Wade, N.J. (2008). The Thatcherisation of faces. Perception, 37, 807-810.
	Wade, N.J. (2008). Chevalier John Taylor, ophthalmiater. Perception, 37, 969-972.
	Wade, N.J., and Deutsch, D. (2008). Binaural hearing before and after the stethophone. Acoustics Today, 4, July, 16-27.
	Wade, N.J. (2008). Cajal’s retina. Cortex, 44, 227-228 and Cover illustration.
	Wade, N.J. (2008). Snellen’s letters. Perception, 37, 167-170.
	Wade, N.J. (2008). Tartuferi’s retina. Cortex, 44, 105-106 and Cover illustration.
	Wade, N. J. (2007) Alzheimer’s memory. Perception, 36, 1111-1114.
	Wade, N.J. (2008). Natural historians. Perception, 37, 479-482.
	Ono, H., Lillakas, L., and Wade, N. J. (2007). Seeing double and depth with Wheatstone’s stereograms. Perception, 36, 1611-1623.
	Tatler, B. W., Wade, N. J., and Kaulard, K. (2007). Examining art: dissociating pattern and perceptual influences on oculomotor behaviour. Spatial Vision, 21, 165-184.
	Wade, N. J. (2007). Artful visions. Spatial Vision, 21, 27-53.
	Wade, N. J. (2007). The vision of William Porterfield. In H. Whitaker, C.U.M. Smith, and S. Finger (Eds.) Brain, Mind, and Medicine: Essays in 18th Century Neuroscience. New York: Springer. pp. 163-176.
	Wade, N. J. (2007). Galileo and the senses: vision and the art of deception. Galilæana, 4, 259-288.
	Wade, N. J. (2007) Image, eye and retina. Journal of the Optical Society of America A. 24, 1229-1249.
	Wade, N. J. (2007). The stereoscopic art of Ludwig Wilding. Perception, 36, 479-482.
	Wade, N.J. (2008). Vision and visualization. Journal of the History of the Neurosciences, 17, 273-293.
	Wade, N. J. (2007). Synintryck, konst och illusioner. In B. Lindberg (Ed.) Sinnen, Signaler och Tolkningar av Verkligheten. Göteborg: KVVS. pp. 61-74.
	Wade, N. J. (2007). Scanning the seen: vision and the origins of eye movement research. In R. P. G. van Gompel, M. H, Fischer, W. S., Murray, & R. L. Hill (Eds.). Eye Movements: A Window on Mind and Brain. Oxford: Elsevier. pp. 31-61.
	Wade, N. J., Sakurai, K., and Gyoba, J. (2007). Whither Wundt? Perception, 36, 163-166.
	Wade, N. J., and Gregory, R. L. (2006). Molyneux's answer II. Perception, 35, 1579-1582.
	Wade, N. J., and Gregory, R. L. (2006). Molyneux's answer I. Perception, 35, 1437-1440.
	Piccolino, M., and Wade, N. J. (2006). Flagging early examples of ambiguity. II. Perception, 35, 1003-1006.
	Piccolino, M., and Wade, N. J. (2006). Flagging early examples of ambiguity. I. erception, 35, 861-864.
	Wade, N. J. (2006). Perception - the pursuit of illusion. In Psychological Concepts: An International Historical Perspective. K. Pawlik and G. d’Ydewalle (Eds.) Hove, East Sussex: Psychology Press. Pp. 271-298.
	Wade, N. J. (2006). Perceptual portraits. In F. Clifford Rose (Ed.) Neurobiology of Painting. San Diego: Elsevier. pp. 17-38.
	Melcher, D., and Wade, N. J. (2006). Cave art interpretation. II. Perception, 35, 719-722.
	Wade, N. J., and Melcher, D. (2006). Cave art interpretation. I. Perception, 35, 577-580.
	Ono, H., and Wade, N. J. (2006). Depth and motion perception produced by motion parallax. Teaching of Psychology, 33, 199-202.
	Wade, N. J., and Piccolino, M. (2006). Nobel stains. Perception, 35, 1-8.
	Wade, N. J., Ono, H., and Mapp, A. (2006) The lost direction in binocular vision: The neglected signs posted by Wells, Towne, and LeConte. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 42, 61-86.
	Wade, N., Wade, C., Wilding, L, Wilding, I, Kiwus, W., and Kiwus, I. (2005). Interactive art and science. Perception, 34, 1295-1300.
	Ono, H., and Wade, N. J. (2005). Depth and motion in historical descriptions of motion parallax. Perception, 34, 1263-1273.
	Wade, N. J. (2005). Vision and the dimensions of nerve fibers. Journal of the History of the Neurosciences, 14, 281-294.
	Wade, N. J. (2005). Sound and sight: acoustic figures and visual phenomena. Perception, 34, 1275-1290.
	Wade, N. J., and Ono, H. (2005). From dichoptic to dichotic: historical contrasts between binocular vision and binaural hearing. Perception, 34, 645-668.
	Wade, N. J., and Nekes, W. (2005). The two faces of Rex Whistler (1905-1944). Perception, 34, 639-644.
	Wade, N. J. (2005). Accentuating the negative: Tom Wedgwood (1771-1805), perception and photography. Perception, 34, 513-520.
	Wade, N. J. (2005). The original spin doctors - the meeting of perception and insanity. Perception, 34, 253-260.
	Wade, N. J., Norrsell, U., and Presly, A. (2005). Cox’s chair: “a moral and a medical mean in the treatment of maniacs”. History of Psychiatry, 16, 73-88.
	Wade, N. J. (2005). The persisting vision of David Hartley (1705-1757). Perception, 34, 1-6.
	Wade, N. J. (2005). Wade, N. J. (2005). Medical societies and insanity in late-eighteenth century London: The fight between Andrew Marshal and John Hunter. Journal of the History of the Neurosciences, 14, 11-15.
	Omar, A. M., Wade, N. J., Brown, S. I., and Cushieri, A. (2005). Assessing the benefits of ‘gaze down’ display location in complex tasks. Surgical Endoscopy, 19, 105-108.
	Wade, N. J. (2004). Medical memorials. William Charles Wells (1757-1817). Journal of Medical Biography, 12, 214.
	Wade, N. J. (2004). Toying with science. Perception, 33, 1025-1032.
	Wade, N. J. (2004). Visual neuroscience before the neuron. Perception, 33, 869-889.
	Wade, N. J. (2004). Joseph Priestley (1733-1804). Perception, 33, 509-512.
	Ono, H. Lillakas, L., Ujike, H., Wade, N. (2004). On the definition of motion parallax. Vision, 16, 83-92.
	Wade, N. J. (2004). Philosophical instruments and toys: Optical devices extending the art of seeing. Journal of the History of the Neurosciences, 13, 102-124.
	Wade, N. J. (2004). Good figures. Perception, 33, 127-134.
	Wade, N. J. (2003). Translation and recognition. Perception, 33, 1-10.
	Wade, N. J., and Heller, D. (2003). Visual motion illusions, eye movements, and the search for objectivity. Journal of the History of the Neurosciences, 12, 376-395.
	Wade, N. J. (2003). Movements in art: from Rosso to Riley. Perception, 32, 1029-1036.
	Wade, N. J., Tatler, B. W., and Heller, D. (2003). Dodge-ing the issue: Dodge, Javal, Hering, and the measurement of saccades in eye movement research. Perception, 32, 793-804.
	Wade, N. J., Brožek, J., and Hoskovec, J. (2003). Images of Purkinje's vision. History & Philosophy of Psychology, 4 (2), 1-9.
	Wade, N. J. (2003). The legacy of phantom limbs. Perception, 32, 517-524.
	Wade, N. J., and Finger, S. (2003). William Porterfield (ca. 1696-1771) and his phantom limb: An overlooked first self-report by a man of medicine. Neurosurgery, 52, 1196-1199.
	Wade, N. J. (2003). The Chimenti controversy. Perception, 32, 185-200.
	Tatler B. W., and Wade N. J. (2003) On nystagmus, saccades, and fixations. Perception, 32, 167-184.
	Wade, N. J., Kovács, G., and Vidnyánsky, Z. (2003). Inverted faces. Perception, 32, 1-6.
	Wade, N. J. (2003). Visual illusions. In The Concise Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology and Behavioral Science New York: Wiley.
	Wade, N. J. (2003). The search for a sixth sense: The cases for vestibular, muscle, and temperature senses. Journal of the History of the Neurosciences, 12, 175-202.
	Wade, N. J., and Hughes, P. (2002). Perceptual pilgrimages. Perception, 31, 1159-1164.
	Finger, S., and Wade, N. J. (2002). The neuroscience of Helmholtz and the theories of Johannes Müller. Part 2. Sensation and perception. Journal of the History of the Neurosciences, 11, 234-254.
	Finger, S., and Wade, N. J. (2002). The neuroscience of Helmholtz and the theories of Johannes Müller. Part 1. Nerve cell structure, vitalism, and the nerve impulse. Journal of the History of the Neurosciences, 11, 136-155.
	Shimono, K., and Wade, N. J. (2002) Monocular alignment in different depth planes. Vision Research, 42, 1127-1135.
	Wade, N. J. (2002). Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802). Perception, 31, 643-650.
	Wade, N. J. (2002). Charles Wheatstone (1802-1875). Perception, 31, 265-272.
	Ono, H., Wade, N. J., and Lillakas, L. (2002) The pursuit of Leonardo’s constraint. Perception, 31, 83-102.
	Wade, N. J., and Swanston, M. T. (2001). Helmholtz on golf.Perception, 30, 1407-1410.
	Wade, N. J., and Finger, S. (2001). The eye as an optical instrument. From camera obscura to Helmholtz's perspective. Perception, 30, 1157-1177
	Wade, N. J. (2001). The Bains of Psychology. Perception, 30, 777-783.
	Hofmeister, J., Frank, T., Cushieri, A., and Wade, N. J. (2001). Perceptual aspects of two-dimensional and stereoscopic display techniques in endoscopic surgery: Review and current problems. Seminars in Laparoscopic Surgery, 8, 12-24.
	Feresin, C., Wade, N. J., and Swanston, M. T. (2001) Monocularity and the motion aftereffect. Atti della Fondazione Giogio Ronchi, 56, 45-54.
	Wade, N. J., Ono, H., and Lillakas, L. (2001) Leonardo da Vinci's struggles with representions of reality. Leonardo, 34, 231-235.
	Wade, N. J. (2001) Abolition of the senses. Brain and Behavioural Science, 24, 243-244.
	Wade, N. J. (2001) Websights. Perception, 30, 261-262.
	Wade, N. J. (2001). Visual illusions. In The Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology and Behavioral Science (3rd ed., Vol. 4, pp. 1742-1744). New York: Wiley.
	Wade, N. J., and Bruce, V. (2001) Surveying the seen: 100 years of British vision. British Journal of Psychology, 92, 79-112.
	Wade, N. J. (2000) William Charles Wells (1757-1817) and vestibular research before Purkinje and Flourens. Journal of Vestibular Research, 10, 127-137.
	Wade, N. J. (2000) An upright man. Perception, 29, 253-257.
	Wade, N. J. (2000) Jean Théophile Desaguliers (1683-1744) and eighteenth century vision research. British Journal of Psychology, 91, 275-285.
	Wade, N. J. (2000) Porterfield and Wells on the motions of our eyes. Perception, 29, 221-239.

 

Additional Information

Editorial Commitments

Editorial Board, Perception
Editorial Board, Journal of the History of the Neurosciences