# Spectroscopy Expanded the Human Sense of Sight by Richard Dawkins > “Humanity's eyes have now been widened to see that the rainbow of visible light is only an infinitesimal slice of the full electromagnetic spectrum. Spectroscopy is unweaving the rainbow on a grand scale. If Keats had known what Newton's unweaving would lead to — the expansion of our human vision, inspired by the expanding universe — he could not have drunk that toast.” > **— Richard Dawkins**, *1999 Edge Annual Question, response passage* ## Sources and Context - **Original Edge response:** [evolutionary biologist and the Charles Simonyi Professor For The Understanding Of Science at Oxford University — Richard Dawkins](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/10756) — a verbatim passage from Richard Dawkins's 1999 Annual Question response, expressing the author's position at the time. The linked response supplies its surrounding context. - **Local archival entry:** [[research/Edge 1999 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 1999 Full Quotation Curation]] (EDGE1999-065). ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Neurotech|Neurotech]] - **Article:** [[articles/Escape Hatch in the Skull|Escape Hatch in the Skull]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Next Interface Layer|The Next Interface Layer]] - **Article:** [[articles/Technologies for Consciousness Mapping and Transfer|Technologies for Consciousness Mapping and Transfer]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Extended Mind Thesis|Extended Mind Thesis]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “Humanity's eyes have now been widened to see that the rainbow of visible light is only an infinitesimal slice of the full electromagnetic spectrum. Spectroscopy is unweaving the rainbow on a grand scale. If Keats had known what Newton's unweaving would lead to — the expansion of our human vision, inspired by the expanding universe — he could not have drunk that toast.” — Richard Dawkins, 1999 Edge Annual Question https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-richard-dawkins-spectroscopy-expanded-human-sense-sight ```