Illusion

Why is this optical illusion hardwired into our brain?

The Motion Aftereffect is an optical illusion in which stationary objects appear to be in motion if a person has just been looking at a moving background. And the effect appears to work on the deepest levels of our subconscious. We’ve known about this particular optical illusion for a long, long time – it was…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Jun 28

How to trick people into thinking they’re the size of Barbie Dolls

Imagine that you woke up to discover you had somehow shrunk to a doll’s size. Would you think you were tiny…or that everyone else was a giant? Some Swedish psychologists decided the world deserved an answer to that age-old question. This may all seem rather out there, but it actually speaks to some rather basic…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins May 26

This Is (Officially) the Best Illusion of the Year

It’s no David Copperfield, but in this day and age surely that’s a good thing? Winner of the Best Illusion of the Year contest, this moving circle of dots tricks the eye into seeing changing color even when they’re not. While you may not see it, the dots in the video above are always changing…

Tech News Kelly May 11

MC Escher’s Impossible Waterfall Is Not Impossible

Watching a real life version of Escher’s Impossible Waterfall melts my brain. The more I look at, the more confused I get! Thankfully, the secret on how the whole illusion works is out. There’s clear DIY instructions on how to make your own impossible waterfall on Instructables and that video above shows what’s really going…

Tech News Casey Chan Apr 28

This App Turns the iPad into a 3D Display That Doesn’t Need Glasses

Two university software developers have cooked up a pretty clever use of the iPad 2’s new front-facing camera: tracking your face to create the illusion of depth. The effect is so wicked that it actually tricks the brain into thinking there’s a real threedimensional world behind a glass. For games and other visually-rich apps, being…

Tech News Sam Biddle Apr 11

Even newborn chicks know Escher’s staircases are impossible

It turns out that the impossible buildings and bizarre objects dreamed up by artists like M.C. Escher tap into an incredibly primal understanding of the world’s geometry, a knowledge that is hard-wired into all vertebrates, including newly hatched chickens. Because scientists can kind of be jerks when they really want to know something, a bunch…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Mar 28

What created the illusion of two Suns setting over China?

A recently released video shows what seems to be two suns setting in China. This strange, otherworldly sight could just be a hoax, but similar optical illusions have been seen before. The only problem is we still haven’t explained them. The appearance of a second sun is caused by optical refraction, as atmospheric particles bend…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Mar 6

An Optical Illusion Bookshelf: Are There Three or Four Shelves?

Using inspiration from the impossible fork, ClarkeHopkinsClarke Architects built this optical illusion bookshelf. The shelf looks cartoony and almost invisible but that’s not even the real illusion, the real mind bender is that there are what seems like 4 shelves on the left side but only 3 shelves on the right side. Whoa. [Neatorama] That’s…

Tech News Casey Chan Mar 2

Space photos reveal the weird optical illusion of the squished Moon

These pictures offer a spectacular view of the rising Moon from the International Space Station. But look closely at the Moon in these photos and you can see how it appears to be strangely squished. What’s causing this weird effect? First of all, if you’re not quite seeing the squished effect, check out these close-ups…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Jan 23

Understanding the Devious Progress Bar Illusion

Click to viewDid you know that simple optical illusions can make it seem like the progress bars on your file downloads are moving faster than they actually are? Here’s how it works. Between this explanation and the scientific proof regarding how one checkout line really is moving faster than the other, I’m not even sure…

Tech News Rosa Golijan Dec 28

How Visual Illusions Make Your Brain Flip

It’s a big skull. No, wait, it’s two people under an arch. Hold on, it’s a skull again. Two very different images can be perceived in this trick picture and now we are one step closer to working out how the brain spontaneously flips between such views, with the discovery of what may be the…

Tech News Jessica Griggs - NewScientist Sep 6

Watch Out for That 3D Optical Illusion on the Road!

You’re cruising down the road, nearing a school zone, when BAM! Out of nowhere, a little girl chasing her ball across the street appears. Your heart races, you slam on the brakes, and then her image dissolves. What? Two Canadian safety organizations have partnered to install a $15,000 device that projects the likeness of a…

Tech News Christina Bonnington Sep 3

The Best Visual Illusion of the Year

“Impossible Motion: Magnet-like Slopes” won the 6th Annual Best Visual Illusion of the Year competition, held in Florida a few days ago. And, much like yesterday’s street paintings, it will make your brain hurt. https://gizmodo.com/illusions-right-beneath-your-feet-5535468 No, this objet d’trickery created by Koukichi Sugihara of Japan’s Meiji Institute for Advanced Study of Mathematical Sciences isn’t magic…

io9 Marc Bernardin May 11

Illusions Right Beneath Your Feet

Former NASA advanced space illustrator Kurt Wenner specializes in painstakingly rendered street paintings that fool the eye and hurt the brain. Wenner has been commissioned by companies, festivals, and the Catholic Church to create his meticulous murals all over the world. Up next: installations in London and Taiwan. Check Wenner’s website for updates.

io9 Marc Bernardin May 10

Our World Is Being Invaded By Cartoons

As a kid, I thought the cartoon world could mix with the real one—like in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. I don’t think I was entirely wrong. Just look at this odd metal sculpture. Created by a guy named Neil Dawson, this sculpture is called Horizons and one of the neatest optical illusions I’ve seen today.…

Tech News Rosa Golijan Feb 16

Toshiba Cell TVs Claim Real-Time 2D to 3D Conversion

The Cell processor that runs the show on Toshiba’s new Cell TV is usually found in high-end PCs (and most notably the PS3). Now it’s invading your living room, bringing real-time 2D to 3D conversion hype with it. It’s not Toshiba’s first go-round with the Cell, but these two new Cell TV series are the…

Tech News Brian Barrett Jan 6

Clear Acrylic Grand Illusion Is a Designer Table Without the Table

Like some kind of ethereal jelly fish table, this design by artist John Brauer is a ghostly reminder of a simple table that once was. Good luck keeping this thing clean. [Essey via Neatorama via MAKE]

Tech News Jack Loftus Sep 13

James Dyson’s ‘Wrong Garden’ Optical Illusion Makes Water Flow Uphill

This fountain, created by inventor James Dyson and inspired by MC Escher, has water flowing up a series of ramps. Or so it appears to. It’s actually a pretty ingenious optical illusion. Water is pumped out of the tops of each ramp, cascading water down both the ramp and over its edge. Bubbles rising inside…

Tech News Adam Frucci Aug 24

Saturn Goes Naked on Its Equinox

Yesterday, Saturn reached its equinox, an event that occurs once every 15 years that creates the illusion that its rings have disappeared. The Cassini spacecraft was there to capture rare images of an apparently ringless Saturn. As we’ve mentioned before, once every 15 Earth years, Saturn reaches its equinox, when the ringplane is directly parallel…

io9 Lauren Davis Aug 13

The Seasonal Affective Disorder Virtual Reality Film Festival

Bad weather has trapped you in the house, and it’s getting darker outside every day. You’re feeling depressed and crazy. What you need is a dose of dystopian cinema that’s all about how the dark world you inhabit is just the product of some AI’s fevered imagination. io9 always wants to make you feel worse,…

Movies Kevin Kelly Dec 4

Why is this optical illusion hardwired into our brain?

How to trick people into thinking they’re the size of Barbie Dolls

This Is (Officially) the Best Illusion of the Year

MC Escher’s Impossible Waterfall Is Not Impossible

This App Turns the iPad into a 3D Display That Doesn’t Need Glasses

Even newborn chicks know Escher’s staircases are impossible

What created the illusion of two Suns setting over China?

An Optical Illusion Bookshelf: Are There Three or Four Shelves?

Space photos reveal the weird optical illusion of the squished Moon

Understanding the Devious Progress Bar Illusion

How Visual Illusions Make Your Brain Flip

Watch Out for That 3D Optical Illusion on the Road!

The Best Visual Illusion of the Year

Illusions Right Beneath Your Feet

Our World Is Being Invaded By Cartoons

Toshiba Cell TVs Claim Real-Time 2D to 3D Conversion

Clear Acrylic Grand Illusion Is a Designer Table Without the Table

James Dyson’s ‘Wrong Garden’ Optical Illusion Makes Water Flow Uphill

Saturn Goes Naked on Its Equinox

The Seasonal Affective Disorder Virtual Reality Film Festival

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