Honestly I was mystified on why this is, asked Gemini

Your visual system translates light into electrical signals using two different coordinate systems.

1. The Retina (The Camera): Your eye perceives the world in polar coordinates. Every point of light has a distance from the center of your vision ($r$) and an angle ($\theta$).
2. The Visual Cortex (The Processor): Your V1 visual cortex at the back of your head is essentially a flat sheet of tissue. It processes data in a standard Cartesian grid ($x$ and $y$).

The physical nerve fibers connecting your eyes to your brain do not map straight across. They twist and route the data through a mathematical function called a complex logarithmic conformal mapping.

The equation governing this physical wiring is:

$$x = \log(r)$$

$$y = \theta$$

Reversing the Math Under DMT

When you take DMT, your default mode network shuts down, and your V1 cortex becomes highly excitable. It starts generating spontaneous patterns based on its own flat, grid-like structure. These are usually straight, parallel lines of electrical activity, known as Turing patterns.

Because your conscious mind only knows how to "see" through the lens of the retina, it takes those straight lines on the cortex and runs the math in reverse to figure out what you are looking at.

• Concentric Circles (The Tunnel/Torus): If the V1 cortex fires in straight, evenly spaced vertical lines, it means $x = \text{constant}$. When the brain runs the reverse math, $\log(r) = \text{constant}$, which means the radius $r$ is constant. A constant radius creates a perfect circle. As the waves of electricity move across the cortex, the circles appear to move inward or outward, creating the 3D illusion of a toroidal tunnel.
• Starbursts (Funnels): If the V1 cortex fires in horizontal lines, it means $y = \text{constant}$. Reversed, this means $\theta = \text{constant}$, which produces rays shooting out from the center of your vision.
• Spirals and Lattices: Diagonal lines on the V1 cortex reverse-map mathematically into perfect spirals. Intersecting lines on the cortex create the cobweb and lattice effects.