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Showing posts with label optical illusions. Show all posts

Saturday, September 17, 2011 ~ Have your say...

The Best Optical Illusions (so far...)

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Back by popular demand (and because our web metrics indicate that our readers love these illusions), we have another 8 of the best optical illusions to trick your brain.

First, the Spinning Spiral... which is a static jpeg and there's no animation taking place, but if you move your eyes to look in any direction or blink, then the spiral spins.
  

This is a picture taken directly above many camels walking in the desert at sunset. Look, closely, because the camels are actually the white lines in the image. The “silhouettes” you are seeing are actually the camel’s shadows. 
  
The image below it is similar, only with zebras instead.
 
The green and the blue in the spiral below are the same color...
It is believed that the reason why we are perceiving one color as two different colors is because of the other colors surrounding the stripes. Each eye has six to seven million cones, which are concentrated in a central yellow spot known as the macula.  These cones measure color in different wavelengths, where some of which overlap. Our brain then compares by measuring the differences in wavelengths between the colors. When certain colors are combined, the brain can't process the data from the cones correctly and we get confused. [gsu and Techi]

The QR Code Illusion... sort of.  It's not a QR code, but look at at the "shimmering" in this image:
The two orange circles are exactly the same size; however, the one on the left seems smaller.  This is known as the Ebbinghaus Illusion.
Two straight and parallel lines look as if they were bowed outwards - known as the Hering Illusion:
And at last, the following image represents a pattern of squares, but there appears to be a spherical bulge coming out of the centre of the image:

Do you know of any other optical illusions that should have made this list?



References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delboeuf_illusion

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebbinghaus_illusion

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hering_illusion

http://www.livescience.com/4950-key-optical-illusions-discovered.html



Thursday, August 11, 2011 ~ Have your say...

Face In The Clouds - A Great Example of Pareidolia

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YouTube user "denisfarmer" took a fantastic video of a rapidly approaching storm front in Grand Falls, New Brunswick, Canada.  As the clouds twist and churn in the sky, they eventually take upon the shape of a face - and it really does look like a face!  However, this is not God, or Zeus, or anything other deity for that matter - it is simply a great example of us humans finding a pattern we are very familiar with (faces) among random noise (quickly moving clouds)... otherwise known as "pareidolia".

Since the clouds change shape so quickly and frequently, it increases the probability that some combination of bumps, puffs and wisps will emerge to look like a face.  Also, it looks as if the face might be composed of multiple layers of the cloud front that come together to look like a face from only his vantage point.

Watch the video - it's worth it.


Tuesday, June 14, 2011 ~ Have your say...

Mahatma Gandhi’s face on Mars?

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Mahatma Gandhi’s face has been found on Mars!  

Sort of.  On first glance, it is a very compelling image, and Matteo Ianneo was quick to point that out using Google Mars.  Located at 33°12'29.82"N, 12°55'51.21"W, the blurry image looks like a picture of Mahatma Gandhi in while in profile view. 

This is a classic case of pareidolia.  A case which gets solved immediately after inspecting the high resolution versions of the photo.  Look at the low resolution photo from the Mars Express Orbiter – it does indeed look like a face: 
CREDIT: ASU Mars Space FLgith Facility
Now, look at the higher resolution photo from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.  Doesn’t look much like a face anymore, does it? 

CREDIT: ASU Mars Space Flight Facility
It should also be noted that Ianneo also “discovered” vegetation, entrances to underground tunnels, and city ruins on Mars in the past few weeks. 

Upon further inspection, I am quite sure that these blurry images will reveal Mars’ geologic landscape… and nothing more.


References:

Monday, May 30, 2011 ~ Have your say...

Why does the moon look bigger on the horizon?

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An explanation of the “Moon Illusion”.

When you look up at the evening sky as the moon begins to rise above the horizon, it seems to swell and then retract as it goes higher in the sky. This effect, where the moon looks bigger along the horizon, is known as the “moon illusion”. It’s not only limited to the moon - it can also be seen as the sun rises as sets. You can dispel the illusion by covering one eye or using a telescope. Humans’ binocular vision is only part of the reason behind the disparity in size. Not convinced? You can also hold a coin or another object up to the moon as it travels through the sky to provide a point of reference to see that the moon remains the same size despite its appearance.

How does the moon illusion work?

The true cause of the moon illusion is a mystery to scientists, both ancient and modern. The strange thing? The moon is actually roughly 1.5% smaller when it is near the horizon than when it is high in the sky, because it is farther away by up to one Earth radius.

One theory hypothesizes that the illusion occurs because when the moon or sun are along the horizon, your brain has more objects to use as a reference, thus allowing it to compare against size and distance. When you have the skyline with trees, buildings, and other objects, your brain tends to interpret the moon as larger than those objects. However, when the moon is far above the horizon, your brain has fewer objects to use as a reference to compare to the size of the moon. Therefore, when the moon is in the empty sky, it appears smaller.


The Ponzo Illusion: how to trick your brain

Part of the reason your brain has such a hard time interpreting the size of the moon in the sky is because the moon’s size does not change as it goes across the sky. Other objects in the world around you (that are not in the sky) appear to be smaller as they move closer to you and gain size as they move farther away. This expectation is physiologically imprinted in your brain. Optical illusions that you may have seen where you compare the size of two lines or circles, such as the Ponzo Illusion, illustrate your brain's ability to trick itself based on the sizes of objects.  Note that in the Ponzo illusion, due to the converging lines, the image that is "further" appears to be larger - even though it is the same size as its foreground version.


Conclusion? Not quite yet…

There is no complete or concrete explanation of why we see a disparity in the moon's size as it moves through the sky. More research is needed to determine what visual cues cause changes in our perception over long distances, and it is possible there is no single theory to explain the moon illusion, since it could be the combination of many processes at once.  This article was by no means a detailed explanation of the problem, but more of an introduction.  To read more about the moon illusion, and the theories used to understand it, visit the references below.



References:

Thursday, December 23, 2010 ~ Have your say...

5 More Incredible Optical Illusions

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The mind can play tricks on the best of us, and this particularly evident when viewing optical illusions. Take a look at these five incredible optical illusions, and then read on to see why optical illusions have anything to do with being skeptical... Click on the images to see larger versions.

1)  Stare at the optical illusion below. Do you see the center portion of it moving?

2)  Sit at a comfortable distance and then move forward and back toward the center of the figure. You should perceive a notable change in brightness. As you move your head forward and back, the brightness will “change”…

3)  In the image below, the dancers are the exact same color, even though one appears to be more black and one appears to be more white...

4)  Do you see the face in the beans? Once you find it, you won’t be able to not see it!

5)  Although this image is comprised of simple purple and green squares outlined in black, it looks like it is bulging out in the center…

How do optical illusions have anything to do with critical thought and skepticism?

They teach us that even the most critical of minds can be fooled. Verify the images above - they are static - there's no animation going on, but in all cases, most people will see things that aren't really there. Human beings are pattern-seeking - we have evolved this way so that we can understand the world around us. But just because we are good at identifying patterns, it doesn't mean there's always a real patter there.

For more incredible optical illusions, visit Illusion-Optical.com.

Friday, March 19, 2010 ~ Have your say...

5 More Crazy Optical Illusions

Back by popular demand, we have 5 more crazy optical illusions:

The shapes in the two triangles have been moved around. If the partitions below are the same, shouldn't every space be filled?


Is this window on the right or left of this building?

The Penrose triangle appears to be solid on the page, but it cannot be physically built.

"Say" the colour of the words below. Having any trouble?

There are only three colors in this picture: Pink, Green, and White....  Dark Green and Red are illusions...

As mentioned in the original article, our visual perception cannot always be trusted. The components of an object can distort the perception of the complete object. Our mind is the final arbiter of truth. Most optical illusions are the result of:


1)   Incongruent design elements at opposite ends of parallel lines

2)   Influence of background patterns on the overall design

3)   Adjustment of our perception at the boundaries of areas of high contrast

4)  Afterimages resulting from eye movements or from kinetic displays

5)  Inability to interpret the spatial structure of an object from the context provided by the picture.



For a full explanation and collection of other crazy optical illusions, please visit The Scientific Psychic.  

Saturday, January 9, 2010 ~ Have your say...

5 Crazy Optical Illusions

The mind can play tricks on us, and this particularly evident when viewing optical illusions.  Take a look at these five, and then read on to see why optical illusions have anything to do with being skeptical...  Click on the images to see larger versions.

Spinning circles...



Can you count the black dots?




Waves...



Shimmering, vibrating...
 


Imaginary rotation...
 

So why are optical illusions important?  Because they teach us that even the most critical of minds can be fooled.  Verify the images above - they are static JPEGs (and a PNG) - there's no animation going on, but in all cases, most people will see circles rotating, dots moving, or waves rolling.  It's very easy to see things that aren't really there.

I was originally going to explain how these illusions work, Michael Bach has done a fantastic job already.  Visit his site to view many more.

Another great site is VisualIllusion.net, where they provide a free eBook to explain the scientific explanation for optical illusions.


Finally, check out this video...





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