A Turn in the Road

Short description of our illusion: When we look at two pictures that are physically the same, they usually look the same. When they are different, they look different. Our illusions show the opposite: two images that are different but look the same – those are called “metamers”; – and two images that are identical but look different – we call those “anti-metamers.” Our main illusion mixes the two: it shows three images, two of which match with a third one mismatching. Viewers see one image as odd, but it’s one of the two identical images they see as different, an illusion we call “false pop out.”

       (Source)

Read More

The Dynamic Ebbinghaus

The Dynamic Ebbinghaus takes a classic, static size illusion and transforms it into a dynamic, moving display. A central circle, which stays the same size, appears to change size when it is surrounded by a set of circles that grow and shrink over time. Interestingly, this effect is relatively weak when looking directly at a stationary central circle. But if you look away from the central circle or move your eyes, or if the entire stimulus move across the screen, then the illusory effect is surprisingly strong – at least twice as large as the classic, static Ebbinghaus illusion.

      (Source)

Read More

The Disappearing Faces Illusion

In the movie the test stimuli were two transparently superimposed, low-contrast greyscale photos. We used one photo of Albert Einstein and one of Marilyn Monroe. Two identical Einstein+Marilyn photos were set up side by side with a fixation point between them; each looked like a confused jumble, and neither face could be seen clearly. The adapting stimuli were high-contrast flickering versions of the two single components: Einstein on the left and Marilyn on the right. Result: Adaptation made Einstein fade out subjectively from the left- hand Einstein+Marilyn, which now looked like Marilyn. Conversely, Marilyn subjectively faded out from the Einstein+Marilyn on the right, which now looked like Einstein. This adaptation selectively picked out (and degraded) the test photo with which it was congruent, and had little effect on the other, superimposed but noncongruent test photo.

      (Source)

Read More