The Visual Cliff

Two psychologists set out to investigate depth perception.
E.J. Gibson and R. D. Walk developed the visual cliff experiment.
The apparatus they used simulated an actual cliff.
Yet a sheet of Plexiglas protected the subjects from injury.

In my psychology classes in college, the visual cliff experiment intrigued me.
The sheet of Plexiglas covered a cloth with a checkerboard pattern.
On one side, the cloth is placed directly beneath the Plexiglas.
On the other side, the cloth is dropped about 4 feet below.

Since the entire surface was covered with Plexiglas, the child can safely crawl across.
A parent was positioned on one end of the Plexiglas, calling for the child to come to them.
Sometimes a favorite toy was used to entice the child to crawl towards them.
However, depending on the age of the child, some children would not crawl across.

The reluctance was believed to be because the child perceived depth.
They thought that the transparent space was an actual cliff.
Thirty-six infants, aged 6-14 months were tested.
Only 27 children crawled to their mothers.

Even though they patted the Plexiglas and found that it was solid, they refused to crawl.
They perceived a drop between them and their mothers.
All of the babies relied on their vision to assess the situation.
The results depended on the child’s age and their ability to assess depth.

Later research showed that children as young as three months can perceive the visual cliff.
Their heart rate quickened, their eyes widened, and their breathing rate increased.
However, these children were too young to realize the potential consequence.
They had not yet begun to crawl.

The consequence of going over the visual cliff is the potential of falling.
The youngest children have not had the experience of falling yet.
They have not yet had the bumps and tumbles associated with mobility.
The visual cliff was a lesson in both perception and experience.

Charles Blondin was a famous French tightrope walker.
In June 1859, Blondin attempted to be the first person to cross over Niagara Falls.
He walked across about 160 feet above the falls.
He walked across several times on a tightrope stretched over a quarter mile.

Blondin walked across the falls on stilts, on a bicycle, and in the dark.
He once carried a stove over the falls and cooked an omelet.
One time he asked for a volunteer.
The crowd was amazed at all the things Blondin could successfully do on the tightrope.

They were impressed with his skill and his balance.
Do you believe I can carry a person across in this wheelbarrow? he said pointing.
Yes, Yes, Yes. You can do anything, the crowd responded.
OK, now get in the wheelbarrow, Blondin challenged.

No one did.

Much like the children who patted the Plexiglas, fear took over.
It is one thing to say you believe something.
It is another thing to act on that faith.
Even with their own mother on the other end, the infants would not crawl across.

A New Year is upon us.
We go into the New Year carrying our baggage from the year before.
Our baggage of experiences, both good and bad that are the fabric of our lives.
God loves me and is always with me, we say with conviction.

But will we crawl across?
Will we get in the wheelbarrow?
Will we trust God enough to move forward even when things look precarious?
Do we have faith?

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5,6)

The New Year is a time of resolutions and promises.
It is a time of starting over, turning the next page, and entering the next chapter.
If we enter the New Year relying solely on our eyes, we may have a rude awakening.
Things are not always as they appear.

The trials seem bigger, the enemies tougher, and the challenges appear more daunting.
The path that seemed so direct now has obstacles we never imagined.
We feel lost before we even get out of the gate.
We get discouraged.

Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God. (Corrie Ten Boom)
It is safe to venture across into the unknown.
God knows what is unknown to us.
God is already there in the New Year.

Do you have faith?
Pat the ground.
It is solid.
In Christ, there is a Firm Foundation beneath your feet.