Briefly evaluate Gibson's direct theory of perception.

One strength of Gibson's direct theory is that it has real-world applicability, particularly in the development of aviation. Gibson's research into optic flow patterns was crucial for training pilots how to land aircraft safely, demonstrating the practical value of his ideas about how we directly perceive information from our environment. However, a weakness of the theory is that it struggles to explain visual illusions. Illusions show that perception is not always direct or accurate and that our brain can be tricked into making incorrect interpretations. This suggests that perception involves some level of top-down processing or interpretation, which Gibson's theory largely rejects. For example, the Müller-Lyer illusion shows that our interpretation of depth cues can distort our perception of length, which contradicts the idea of direct, unmediated perception.