Optical illusion (14 illusions). Visual illusions Various illusions

10.01.2021

Optical illusion - pictures of illusions with explanations

Don't take optical illusions seriously, trying to understand and solve them, it's just how our vision works. This is how the human brain processes visible light from reflected images.
Unusual shapes and combinations of these pictures make it possible to achieve a deceptive perception, as a result of which it seems that the object is moving, changing color, or an additional picture appears.
All images are accompanied by explanations: how and how long you need to look at the picture to see something that is not really there.

For starters, one of the most discussed illusions on the Internet is 12 black dots. The trick is that you can't see them at the same time. A scientific explanation for this phenomenon was discovered by the German physiologist Ludimar Hermann in 1870. The human eye stops seeing the full picture due to lateral inhibition in the retina.

These figures move at the same speed, but our vision tells us otherwise. In the first gif, four figures move simultaneously while they are adjacent to each other. After separation, the illusion arises that they are moving along black and white stripes independently of each other. After the zebra disappears in the second picture, you can verify that the movement of the yellow and blue rectangles is synchronized.

Look carefully at the black dot in the center of the photo while the timer counts down 15 seconds, after which the black and white image will turn into color, that is, the grass is green, the sky is blue, and so on. But if you don’t stare at this point (to amuse yourself), the picture will remain black and white.

Without looking away, look at the cross and you will see a green spot running along the purple circles, and then they will completely disappear.

If you look at the green dot for a long time, the yellow dots will disappear.

Stare closely at the black dot and the gray stripe will suddenly turn blue.

If you cut a chocolate bar 5 by 5 and rearrange all the pieces in the order shown, an extra piece of chocolate will appear. Do this trick with a regular chocolate bar and it will never run out. (Joke).

From the same series.

Count the football players. Now wait 10 seconds. Oops! Parts of the picture are still the same, but one football player has disappeared somewhere!

The alternation of black and white squares within four circles creates the illusion of a spiral.

If you look in the middle of this animated picture, you will walk down the corridor faster, if you look to the right or left, you will walk slower.

On a white background, the gray stripe looks uniform, but as soon as the white background is replaced, the gray stripe immediately acquires many shades.

With a slight movement of the hand, the rotating square turns into chaotically moving lines.

The animation is obtained by overlaying a black grid on the drawing. Before our eyes, static objects begin to move. Even the cat reacts to this movement.

If you look at the cross in the center of the picture, your peripheral vision will turn the star faces of Hollywood actors into freaks.

Two pictures of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. At first glance, the tower on the right appears to lean more than the tower on the left, but in fact both of these pictures are the same. The reason is that the human visual system views two images as part of a single scene. Therefore, it seems to us that both photographs are not symmetrical.

Which direction does the subway train go?

This is how a simple color change can make the picture come to life.

We look for exactly 30 seconds without blinking, then we move our gaze to someone’s face, an object, or another picture.

A workout for the eyes... or for the brain. After rearranging the parts of the triangle, suddenly there is free space.
The answer is simple: in fact, the figure is not a triangle; the “hypotenuse” of the lower triangle is a broken line. This can be determined by the cells.

At first glance, all the lines seem to be curved, but in fact they are parallel. The illusion was discovered by R. Gregory at the Wall Cafe in Bristol. That's why this paradox is called "The Wall in the Cafe."

Look at the middle of the picture for thirty seconds, then move your gaze to the ceiling or white wall and blink. Who did you see?

An optical effect that gives the viewer a false impression of how the chair is positioned. The illusion is due to the original design of the chair.

English NO (NO) turns into YES (YES) using curved letters.

Each of these circles rotates counterclockwise, but if you fix your gaze on one of them, the second circle will appear to rotate clockwise.

3D drawing on asphalt

Which direction does the Ferris wheel rotate? If you look to the left, then clockwise, if to the left, then counterclockwise. Perhaps it will be the other way around for you.

It's hard to believe, but the squares in the center are motionless.

Both cigarettes are actually the same size. Just place two cigarette rulers on the monitor, top and bottom. The lines will be parallel.

Similar illusion. Of course, these spheres are the same!

The droplets sway and “float”, although in reality they remain in their places, and only the columns in the background move.

Even the most hardened skeptics believe what their senses tell them, but the senses are easily deceived. Optical illusion - an impression of a visible object or phenomenon that does not correspond to reality, i.e. optical illusion. Translated from Latin, the word “illusion” means “error, delusion.” This suggests that illusions have long been interpreted as some kind of malfunction in the visual system. Many researchers have been studying the causes of their occurrence. Some visual illusions have long had a scientific explanation, others are still not explained.

Parallel lines

A variation of the classic illusion from Japanese psychology professor Akioshi Kitaoka. The lines in the figure are parallel.

Wall

Distortion of perspective. Which of the yellow lines in the corners of the wall is larger? The left one seems significantly smaller than the right one. In fact, the yellow lines are exactly the same height.

Spinning girl

A picture created by Japanese designer from Hiroshima Nobuyuki Kayahara in 2003. It was claimed that this was a test picture for visual perception and an exercise for imagination.

If a person sees clockwise rotation, then he is a logician, i.e. his left hemisphere is more developed, if against - he is intuitive. Most people, after short exercises, are able to see the girl rotating in any direction; various techniques contribute to this. Sometimes staring at the picture for 30 seconds is enough, sometimes tracking the shadow.

Gardner's Dragon

Gardner's dragon or Jerry Andrus's dragon (named after its creator), which constantly looks at the observer, is one of the most famous optical illusions. To achieve the maximum effect, you need to place the dragon so that the light source is below, close one eye and, at a distance of 1 - 2 meters, look at the dragon while moving.

Sniper

An illusion by Akiyoshi Kitaoka, professor of psychology at Ritsumeikan University and professor Eiji Watanabe of the Japanese National Institute of Biology, based on the classic Pockendorff illusion.

The essence of the illusion: it is very difficult to determine by eye which of the balls the line is directed towards, which is a continuation of the barrel of the machine gun.

View from the carriage

The flickering of strokes outside the train window creates the illusion of movement. But each person can initially determine the direction of movement differently.

Relativity

Lithograph by the Dutch artist Escher. It was first published in 1953.

The lithograph depicts a paradoxical world in which the laws of reality do not apply. Three realities are united in one world, three forces of gravity are directed perpendicular to one another. An architectural structure has been created, the realities are united by stairs. For people living in this world, but in different planes of reality, the same staircase will be directed either up or down.

Endless staircase

This figure is most often called the “Endless Staircase”, “Eternal Staircase” or “Penrose Staircase” - after its creators. It is also called the “continuously ascending and descending path.” The "Endless Staircase" is one of the most famous classical impossibilities.

Running monsters

Roger Shepard's perspective-taking illusion. In the picture, the fleeing monster seems significantly smaller than the chasing one.

In fact, the monsters are exactly the same. The first is a copy of the second.

Flying pyramids

Sculpture by Venezuelan artist Rafael Barrios. One of the many exhibitions exhibited in New York on Park Avenue. All of them are made of flat sheets of steel and painted with acrylic paints. However, from a distance the sculptures seem voluminous.

Chessboard squares

The Color Perception Illusion, published by MIT professor Edward H. Adelson in 1995.

Are squares A and B of the chessboard different colors?

Rays from the eye

Illusion of Akiyoshi Kitaoka. An absolutely static picture has the illusion of flowing over the observer. Akiyoshi Kitaoka is a professor of psychology at the University (Ritsumeikan) in Tokyo. World famous for its numerous motion illusions.

[b]I found the way

The illusion was created by amateur photographer Robert Bruce Murray III. The inscription confidently floats onto the observer.

floating star

Artist Kaia Nao. Participant in the competition “Illusion of the Year 2012”. An absolutely static image of a star that appears to be rotating.

Impossible elephant

Drawing by Roger Shepard.

Let the dog sleep

Artist Igor Lysenko. Original paintings in the genre of surrealism contain a lot of mysteries and hidden images.

So, for example, in the picture presented, the artist hid the image of a goose. However, it is not easy to find

Impossible cube

Impossible cube from Maurits Cornelis Escher's painting "Belvedere". The image is the result of “pure” modeling in 3D Max, that is, obtained after pressing the “Render” button, without further processing in Photoshop. Rendering author Andrey Ustyuzhanin

Cat and mouse

An illusion from a series of dual images. In the picture you can see either a cat or a mouse, but it is almost impossible to see two images at the same time.

Dragoon and elephant

Drawing on a matchbox. Spain 1870

Look at the photo of the cake. Do you see the red strawberries? Are you sure it's red?

But there is not a single scarlet or even pink pixel in the photo. This image is made using shades of blue, but we can still see that the berries are red. The artist used the same effect of changing lighting, which divided the world into two camps due to the color of the dress. And this is not the most delicious picture of the master of illusions. We share with you the most interesting things.