Interesting Optical Illusions that Leave
Us Confused
There is a huge variety of optical illusions and
all things aren’t always as the way they appear. Although our mind is constantly
trying to make sense of the world around us it can sometimes get a little out
of control and make us start to see things…literally. While, some of the
optical illusions on our list are relatively famous, others are a bit more
obscure but all of them give us a glimpse into our amazingly complex minds.
There is no magic involved, no strings attached, its all in your head. Here are some of the most incredible optical illusions you may find.
Leaning Tower
Yes, the leaning tower of pisa does actually
lean, but these two images are in fact one and the same. Although the image on
the right appears to be leaning away from the one on the left this is only in
your head. Go ahead and try the same thing with the empire state building. It
will lean too.
Hermann Grid
Hermann Grid is a classic optical illusion named after
Ludimar Hermann who discovered it in 1870. At every point where the white lines
intersect our eyes perceive a gray, shadowy blob. If you look directly at one
of the intersections though, the blob disappears.
Fading Image
Stare at the image for about half a minute
without moving your eyes and watch as it gradually disappears. This is a
variation of Troxler’s effect which essentially says that if you fixate your
eyes on a certain point, stimuli near that point will gradually fade.
Checker Shadow Illusion
Probably one of the most unbelievable illusions
out there, this one was first optical illusions pictures published by Edward
Adelson, a professor at MIT. Although the square labeled “A” appears to be
darker than the square labeled “B”, they are actually exactly the same shade of
gray. It’s okay if you don’t believe it, we didn’t either, but Photoshop proved
us wrong.
Rotating Rings
If you stare at the dot in the center and move
your head away from the screen the rings will start to rotate. Now gradually
get closer again…they change direction!
Static Motion
No, this is not an optical illusions GIF. The
image really is static. Notice that when you look at any individual point dead
on, it will stop moving. This powerful optical illusion is derived from
interacting color contrasts and shape positions within the image.
Monster Illusion
Found in virtually every psychology textbook in
the world, the two monsters in this optical illusion are in fact the same size.
Your brain automatically adjusts images that it perceives to be distant in
order to compensate for the fact that they are larger than they seem.
Titchener Circles
Also known as the Ebbinghaus Illusion, there is
still a debate in psychological circles as to the exact mechanism and
implication of this effect. Essentially, the orange circle on the left appears
to be smaller than the one on the right although in reality they are the same
size.
Kanizsa Triangle
The Kanizsa Triangle was named after the
psychologist Gaetano Kanizsa who first described its effect. When you look at
the image your brain creates contours (outlines) of a triangle although none
exist. In reality it is an illusion created by the the wedges and the angles.
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Blivet
This is one of the most famous optical illusion
pictures of an impossible object. It has two rectangular prongs at one end that
morph into three cylindrical prongs at the other.
Fraser Spiral
First described by British psychologist James
Fraser in 1908, this illusion is also known as the “false spiral”. While it
appears that the overlapping arcs are spiraling into infinity they are in fact
only a series of concentric circles.
Up and Down
Although it is obvious that the pillars in this
optical illusion gif are staying in the same horizontal position, our brain is
convinced that they should be moving to the right.
Scintillating Grid
This is a variation of the Hermann Grid where
black dots appear and disappear at the intersections of the gray lines.
Interestingly enough, if you cock your head at a 45 degree angle the effect is
reduced (but not eliminated).
Black on White
Stare at the center of the image for about 30
seconds and then look away at a preferably white surface (sometimes the ceiling
works). What do you see?
Jastrow Illusion
Named after Robert Jastrow in 1889, the bottom
figure appears to be larger although they are both the same size. This is
because the shorter edge of “A” is directly adjacent to the longer edge of “B”.
Blue vs Green
There are several variations to this optical
illusion but the effect is the same. The “blue” and “green” backgrounds are in
fact the same color (open it in photoshop).
Hering Illusion
Although the two red lines seem to be bowed
outwards they are perfectly straight and parallel. This optical illusion is
attributed to Ewald Hering, a German physiologist who believed that the
distortion was derived from the mind overestimating the angles at the points of
intersection.
Zöllner Illusion
This optical illusion was named after Johann
Karl Friedrich Zöllner and consists of parallel lines that appear to be
diagonal. You may need a ruler for this one.
Wonder Block
Yet again we have an example of an impossible
object except this time it’s the rotation of the blocks that is inconsistent.
Are they side by side or on top of each other? Maybe thats why they call them
indecipherable figures.
Cafe Illusion
Another famous optical illusion, this one was
recently rediscovered in a cafe wall at the bottom of St. Michael’s Hill.
Although the lines appear to be diverging from one another they are in fact
quite parallel.
Floating Stairs
For centuries artists have been pushing our
perceptual limits and if you ever get lucky enough, from the right angle, you
may just catch a glimpse into the practical artistic applications of optical
illusions and the way our mind interprets them.
Endless Staircase
This is a variation of the endless staircase
optical illusion constructed out of legos. Like the blivet, this is also an
impossible object and is sometimes called the “Penrose triangle”.
Rotating Squares
At first this optical illusion picture may be
hard to see, but if you begin to scan back and forth across the image you will
notice that the squares in your periphery begin to rotate. As soon as your eyes
stop moving, however, rotation will cease.
Lilac Chaser
Also known as the pac-man illusion, if you
stare at the center cross for a couple seconds you will begin to perceive a
green disco going around the circle of magenta discs. After a few more seconds
the magenta discs will gradually begin to fade away until all you see is a
green disc going in a circle around the cross (if you’re having trouble seeing
this optical illusion move closer to the screen).
