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Yes, I'm quite familiar with vernier acuity. It is remarkable. It's as though our mind is performing an average over the lengths of the two marks. That's my explanation. But it is definitely a marvel. For a great read concerning these sorts of things I recommend "Visual Intelligence, by Donald Hoffman"
http://tinyurl.com/ce3g4dl

The principles of vernier measurement fall into a very broad category which contains all sorts of uses of measuring small differences in frequency. The phenomenon of beats bears on how the vernier works, in that the spatial frequency of the vernier markings are slightly different from the main markings and they move into and out of phase slowly. Just because one can mathematically explain a phenomenon doesn't preclude one not be amazed and delighted. Right?

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