Have fun with strabismus!

What it looks like

Oscillopsia is the perception of things moving, while they aren't. These two examples are approximations of what a small green light in the dark may look like to someone who has nystagmus. The light will seem to tremble or move from left to right rapidly - the frequency will be the same as the nystagmus, and because that's quite fast, the light will often 'smear out'.

People born with nystagmus, literally having grown up with it, aren't bothered by the constant moving of the things they see, other than that it has a bad effect on visual acuity. Normal people will get really nauseous when they see the world like this - you can induce nystagmus in a healthy person by turning him/her around and around for a while on an office chair for example, afterwards the brain is still trying to keep up with the fast moving office environment and will keep generating rapid eye movements for a couple of seconds more. Of course this also messes up the inner ear systems that keep you balanced, so be careful, and don't throw up on your desk. Poring ice cold water in the outer ear canal will do the trick as well, this is also useful for finding out if someone is braindead, but the method is not recommended for use on unsuspecting co-workers or your boss.

Whether or not oscillopsia is perceived, depends not only on the type of nystagmus, but also on the objects viewed; sharp contrast and contours seem to play a role in that. Here's a crude representation of what a crowded train station looks like when there's oscillopsia. The movement effect is unfortunately not fast enough; a better version is under development.