![]() Instead, the brain simply tries to make the most useful conclusion from conflicting information.Īnother popular example is the scintillating grid. This doesn’t mean the brain is malfunctioning. There are subtle differences in how the brain perceives shades, shapes, edges and lighting contrast. Simple patterns of lines, dots and shades can trick the visual system and confuse our brain’s interpretation of what we think we’re seeing.įor instance, in 1995, a researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology created the now-famous Checkershadow Illusion to show how the brain gets visual cues wrong sometimes. Optical illusion in drawings: Illustrations faking us out This need for speed could be one of the factors contributing to optical illusions. If they didn’t act quickly, a leopard could have them for lunch. To survive in a hostile world, the earliest humans had to develop a rapid-fire ability to recognize threats. For example, a fish in a pond is not exactly where you see it because water bends light and changes the fish’s perceived location.Įvolution. Certain combinations of these variables confuse the visual system and cause us to see things inaccurately. The vision system is always perceiving light, color, distance, dimensions and other variables in real time. Still, it’s widely accepted that the brain’s own wiring helps produce optical illusions.Įnvironment. The vision system’s processes for turning visual information into eyesight are incredibly complex and not completely understood. From there, visual information travels the optic nerves to the brain’s visual center. Light travels through the cornea and the lens of the eyeball and activates the nerves of the retina. Scientists are not entirely certain why we experience optical illusions, but these are some of their theories: SEE RELATED: Synesthesia Why does the vision system produce optical illusions? We’ll talk about this in a minute, but first we’ll look at the basic causes of optical illusions. They happen because people set out to trip up our visual system. Some of the coolest optical illusions are anything but natural. Either way, certain shapes and colors confuse the brain into concluding there’s no danger nearby. Hunters use camouflage to fool their prey, while soldiers use camo to fool each other. If you back up far enough, the screen becomes all but invisible.Ĭamouflage. ![]() If you step back a few feet, you can visualize everything beyond the screen. If you place your face right up against a window screen, all you see is the grid. ![]() They use cameras, projectors and still images to trick your brain into seeing motion. Movies and animated videos are not really moving. It translates pixels into the shapes of letters, numerals and punctuation. You can’t see the pixels, but your brain can. Everything visible here is a collection of tiny dots called pixels. ![]() Reading this on a computer or phone requires an optical illusion. Your brain does a lot of guesswork that you might not realize is an optical illusion, such as: SEE RELATED: Alice in Wonderland syndrome Everyday optical illusions you may not even notice Let’s take a look at why these visual goofs capture our imagination, and when they might be a cause for concern. Whatever the cause, optical illusions are a fascinating facet of human perception. Optical illusions might mean all sorts of things - from engaging mind games to symptoms of an underlying disease. An incorrect guess can create an optical illusion. Eyesight is the result.īut sometimes the brain gets more visual information than it can handle, so it makes a guess. There, the brain figures out what it all means as quickly as possible. Ideally, our eyeballs capture visual information and send it via the optic nerves to the brain. It’s a collection of living tissue that’s always changing in response to our environment. Well, our vision system is not like a camera or a computer that produces images the same way every time. Whatever the reason, optical illusions seem to be telling us something is there when it really isn’t. These illusions can happen naturally, or they may be created by artists and illustrators. People post examples of optical illusions for fun on the internet.
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