Shifty Periphery

Unlike cones, which are responsible for color vision and are concentrated in the central fovea, rods lack color sensitivity and primarily detect shades of gray.

Their high sensitivity to dim light makes peripheral vision more effective in low-light conditions, which is why objects in the dark are often easier to see when viewed indirectly.

Additionally, rods are highly responsive to movement, allowing the peripheral vision to detect motion faster than the central visual field.

However, because rods are absent in the fovea and densely packed along the periphery, peripheral vision lacks sharpness and fine detail compared to central vision.

This distribution explains why humans rely on peripheral vision for detecting threats, movement, and navigating in low-light environments but depend on central vision for tasks requiring high acuity, such as reading or recognizing faces.