Assuming that a single photon sends a single signal through the optic nerve and there are only so many fibers.

Question

...shouldn't we be seeing in more like a digital, pixellated way?

I mean, look around... how much information can truly be transmitted to the brain at once? Surely it is a direct function of the number of nerve fibers contained in a single optic nerve... I know they're big nerves, but the chemical reactions taking place on a moment by moment basis must be immeasurable...

Answer 1

No, you should not be seeing in a digital way.  The nervous system is not digital.  At every nucleus in the optic pathway from retina to the visual cortices, the number of neurons grows.  Your visual perception is not just a TV-like image.  It includes much more processing than a simple digital picture.  Vision is more parallel processing than is TV.