Optical Illusions: What Causes Them? Try Some Out!
Illusions can be literal, physiological, or cognitive, depending on which aspect of your brain is the object of a con job on your visionAbigail Howell, a biomedical student at ArizonaState University, explains that there are three different types of optical illusion, in which the brain incorrectly interprets what the eyes are seeing: Literal optical illusions are often produced by putting together a collection of multiple images. Each individual image may be easy to see, but the images together may look very different than the originals. This is accomplished through what is known as the “filling-in phenomena.” When the eye sends visual information to the brain, the brain chooses what parts to focus on. Depending on the focus, different layers of the image may be seen. Abigail Howell, “Ask a biologist: What causes optical illusions?” at ArizonaState University She offers as an example of Read More ›