This was sent to me by a fellow pilot. Having possible mid-air "targets" disappear while flying is not a good thing. Pilots are taught to keep their eyes scanning and never fixate on one object (like an airport beacon on the ground at night). The link brings you to a really good graphic application. However, the graphic representation is from a motorcycle website, not a flying one! So this effect is still dangerous even when driving your car (or motorcycle).
http://www.msf-usa.org/motion.html
Subject: Motion Induced blindness
"This is a great illustration of what we were taught about scanning outside the cockpit when I went through training back in the '50s. We were told to scan the horizon for a short distance, stop momentarily, and repeat the process. I can remember being told why this was the most effective technique to locate other aircraft. It was emphasized repeatedly to not fix your gaze for more than a couple of seconds on any single object. The instructors, some of whom were WWII veterans with years of experience, instructed us to continually "keep our eyes moving and our head on a swivel" because this was the best way to survive, not only in combat, but from peacetime hazards (like a midair collision) as well.
We basically had to take the advice on faith (until we could experience for ourselves) because the technology to demonstrate it didn't exist at that time."
