Color optical illusion. Visual illusions - what are they?

Optical illusions, or as they are also called optical illusions, arise from healthy people relatively often throughout life, since they are completely normal condition, depending on specific conditions or the structure of the human eye.

The causes of some illusions have been established, but most of them have no scientific explanation, to this day. TO known species optical illusions These include phenomena caused by the structural features of the organ of vision - this is irradiation, optical illusions, the Mariotta illusion accompanying astigmatism (the so-called blind spot), etc.

Today, doctors and psychologists have managed to create an unusual classification that divides all types of optical deceptive perceptions according to different signs. Thus, there are illusions of perception of the size of an object or figure, the ratio of the size of a figure depending on the background, deceptions of color and contrasts. And also, erroneous perceptions of depth and movement, effects of perceptual readiness and aftereffects, illusions of the pareidolic direction, seemingly imaginary and impossible (areal, beyond reality, unreal) figures.

An optical illusion is an erroneous visual perception of reality, an object or a visible phenomenon as a result of the structural features of the visual apparatus, as well as under the influence of specific natural conditions(refraction of rays in heavy rain, distortion of the outlines of objects or figures at dusk). Moreover, a disease such as color blindness has nothing to do with optical illusions.

The entire visual system, including the eyes, is responsible for visual perception. nerve cells and the endings through which the visual signal enters the brain, and directly the part of the brain that is responsible for the visual perception of phenomena or objects.

Known since the time of Ptolemy, the illusion of perceiving celestial bodies in an increased volume when they are near the horizon is considered an amazing phenomenon. Many scientists found worthy and convincing explanations for this phenomenon, but time passed and new, equally “reliable” theories appeared.

This just goes to show that there is still a lot more to explore in the field of optical illusions. Scientists and doctors have divided (conditionally) the reasons why any types of optical illusions arise into three types:

The first reason is that the visual system perceives light reflected from objects, in such a way that the human consciousness receives erroneous (imaginary) information.

The second reason is the erroneous, incorrect transmission of vision signals through the nerves, as a result of which the brain also receives incorrect information, which leads to an imaginary, distorted perception.

The third reason is based on brain disorders (failures brain activity), which gives the wrong response.

In some cases, an illusion can arise for several reasons at once.

There are several types of optical illusions - optical illusions, which, for reasons not fully understood, were created by nature (most famous example- these are mirages in deserts), created artificially by man, using visual effects (in particular, playing with light perceptions).

An example is the well-known optical trick - floating in the air (levitation). No less interesting are the illusions recreated by humans using known natural deceptions - these are mixed optical illusions - illusory visual pictures.

If artificially created optical illusions have a strict explanation (playing with light, mechanical structures), then natural illusory illusions almost never have a scientifically based solution.

There are many examples of natural illusions, most of them involving irradiation. So, for example, if we look at white and black squares at a great distance, then the white pictures are perceived by a person as larger, despite the fact that in reality the geometric shapes in the pictures are the same. Moreover, researchers have long noticed that as the distance to the picture increases, the illusion intensifies - this is irradiation.

This type of illusion is due to a specific effect that arises due to the structure of the eye - any point of a light tone is “imprinted” on the retina in the form of a circle (spherical aberration), and the perimeter of this circle is bordered by a light ribbon, due to which the surface with black images increases everything happens the other way around. All experiments aimed at identifying irradiation confirmed its presence in all people.

The illusion of a “blind spot” is provoked by a structural feature of the visual apparatus, or rather, by the existence of a small zone on the retina of the eye in which there is no sensitivity to light. If a ray reflected from any point of an object falls precisely into this zone, then consciousness is not able to perceive it, so some parts of the objects seem invisible and the picture is completely distorted. Several examples perfectly illustrate the presence of this optical illusion.

Looking at the cross on the right side of the picture with our left eye, we will not see a black circle at some distance, although we will distinguish both circles. The circle coincides with the blind spot, so the person simply does not see it, although he can clearly distinguish between the two circles.

If we view this image with the left eye closed at a distance of 20-25 centimeters, the large circle becomes invisible, but the smaller circles on the sides are very clearly visible. And when you look at the cross located below, the circle is only partially invisible. This example is called an optical illusion (Marriott illusion).

There are also examples confirming the origin of optical illusions in astigmatism. If you carefully look at an inscription made in black letters with one eye, then one of the letters will be perceived as blacker; if you turn the inscription at different angles, then different letters will appear to be of a deeper black color.

Astigmatism is expressed in different convexity (in different directions) of the cornea of ​​the eye; almost every person has this feature ( congenital astigmatism, recognized congenital disease only 10% of people have it).

There are many examples of this phenomenon; if you look at a picture with one eye at a close distance for a long time, concentrating on the upper white square, then soon the lower white stripe will disappear from the field of vision (doctors explain this by fatigue of the retina).

Another misperception of objects occurs when special types lighting, these deceptions are called color illusions. One of the most unique effects is an experiment with lighting - if two illuminators placed in a special way (distance 20 cm) illuminate a vertically placed object, its shadow will appear on a white screen.

After this, different filters are placed on both lamps. bright color(for example, blue and red) - these colors will also be reflected on the screen. But... if you remove one color filter, then the color in human perception will remain on the screen. An unusually striking and unexpected example of an optical illusion, when color is imprinted on the brain, is simply a deceptive perception of vision.

There are many theories that have attempted to explain this phenomenon, but we must admit that none of them gives a complete picture of the optical illusion.

Violation of color perception is also considered a type of optical illusion, but its consequences may not be as harmless as one might expect. Road services are well aware that, according to statistics, most emergency situations recorded at intersections at dusk.

This is explained by the fact that in low light, vision is reorganized from cone vision to rod vision, in other words, from color perception to light (more sensitive). The peak time of accidents is precisely the moment of transition, when the cone receptors of the eye are turned off, and the rod analyzers are not included in perception.

The artificial creation of optical illusions makes it possible for specialists to identify certain patterns of visual perception, which is why psychologists pay a lot of attention to experiments. great attention, the tests they invented serve as a “litmus test” for elucidating the hidden mechanisms of vision. To do this, experts come up with all sorts of test experiments, during which the eye must solve complex problems under unusual conditions.

The role of optical illusions has always been high; in ancient times they were used by shamans; the paintings of the world famous Leonardo da Vinci are full of hidden optical illusions (he also wrote several treatises on the topic of illusions). The Leaning Tower of Pisa "falls" visually by only 10% for reasons related to construction, 90% of which are optical illusion.

Research related to geometric optical illusions, with scientific point vision was first carried out in 1854 by Oppel. They were studied by Wundt, Zollner, Poggendorff, Kundt, Helmholtz. Their works tried to clarify as fully as possible the nature of the optical and psychological perception of numerous illusions.

An interesting illusion is represented by circles printed on paper, which when special conditions begins to rotate in a person’s consciousness; it would be more correct to say that a person perceives them as rotating. The closer the image is viewed, the faster the circles rotate. At the moment when the distance is so great that the entire picture “fits” into the field of view, the circles stop altogether.

Coffee beans placed in a special way also cause an optical illusion; it seems to a person that they are moving, making chaotic wave-like movements, reminiscent of being lifted and lowered by a person chest when inhaling and exhaling (of course, this is a visual illusion; in reality, the coffee beans are motionless).

Three-dimensional graphics, or the creation of 3D drawings, three-dimensional drawings, which are increasingly gaining popularity throughout the world, also belong to artificially created illusory deceptions. The essence of such drawings or stereography is based on the fact that images created using 3D technology acquire a three-dimensional effect.

The main difference between three-dimensional pictures and a two-dimensional image is the transfer of the geometric projection of a three-dimensional object onto a plane using special programs. Absolutely any object, real objects or natural phenomena can serve as a model for creating a 3D drawing.

The illusion of volume, created with the help of three-dimensional graphics, is widely used in architecture and construction - “living” walls, floors, and “moving” facades significantly diversify apartments and building exteriors.

Scientists at all times, studying optical illusions, focused, as a rule, on psychological and medical factors this phenomenon, and only in last years experts have come to the unusual conclusion that the natural illusions of vision that exist in everyday life can themselves influence scientific observations, introducing erroneous perception, which can lead to erroneous conclusions.

Not so long ago, when studying the features of single crystals, experts discovered that optical illusions constantly led to incorrect, highly distorted (25% or more) results of assessing actual geometric parameters, and therefore, it is necessary to check all visual perceptions using scale rulers.

Moreover, almost all complex geometric figures cause visual illusions, parallel lines, V large quantities When applied to a sheet of paper, they appear wavy; concentric circles begin to “move.” This same type of illusion includes the deceptions of crooked mirrors, optical illusions so familiar to everyone from childhood.

A selection of optical illusions and double-digit pictures.

The eyes are complex mechanism which helps a person to perceive correctly the world. But as practice shows, even such a seemingly perfect mechanism can be easily deceived.

This can be done using color contrasts, sharply changing proportions and various kinds small details. Thanks to all this human eye will see an optical illusion that changes depending on the angle at which you look at it.

What is visual illusion, optical illusion, surrealism?

Optical illusion

Optical illusion (visual illusion)- this is an incorrect perception of certain pictures or surrounding objects by the eyes. In this case, the eyes see the image a little differently than the brain tells them. The correct background, depth and geometric shapes arranged in a certain sequence help to achieve a similar effect in the picture.

All these little tricks prevent the eyes from correctly scanning the image in front of them, and as a result, the brain forces the person to see a distorted picture. Surrealist artists take full advantage of this feature of the human eye and try to surprise people with paintings that have a special meaning. That is why surrealism can also be classified as an optical illusion that can provoke a person to strong emotions.

Pictures-illusions for the eyes, optical illusions, and their secrets

Illusion pictures for the eyes

As you probably already understood, illusion pictures force our brain to perceive images not exactly as they look. This happens because the brain also has patterns, and if it understands that the eyes do not perceive the picture quite correctly, it begins to send impulses that make it completely different.

The brain can also be tricked by using bright colors. If the same picture is superimposed on a different background, then it individual parts the eyes will perceive in a different color.

People are even more misled by pictures that depict geometric shapes that are contrasting in color. At first glance, it may seem to a person that they are located parallel to each other. But in fact, if you look more closely at them, you can understand that they are looking in opposite directions.

And, of course, don’t forget that a loving picture looks different from different angles. In view of this, if you make it contrasting, you will see different depths in it. This can be seen in the example with a contrasting cube.

Complex 3D stereo images for eye training with explanations

Stereo image to improve vision

3D stereo image

3D picture

3D stereo pictures- this is nothing more than the same optical illusions, simply created by alternating dots and textures. Main principle Such pictures are based on the brain’s ability to compare different data and estimate distances to objects, figures and points as accurately as possible.

Such images are very often used for eye training in the treatment of ophthalmic pathologies. According to experts, if a person looks at such pictures for at least a few minutes a day, his eyes will relax properly.

In order to correctly see the stereo image, you will first need to move away from it at arm's length and try to completely relax your eyes. You should try to look through the image. If you do everything correctly, after some time you will see the most realistic three-dimensional picture.

Pictures-illusions black and white, optical illusion with explanations

Three-dimensional picture in black and white

Black and white flats

If you carefully read our article, you probably realized that illusion pictures work best with color contrast. That is why black and white images The easiest way to deceive our eyes. If you just look at the simplest picture in this color scheme, you will notice that your eyes jump from one element to another, not knowing where to stop.

That is why, when looking at such an optical illusion, it seems to a person that the figures in the image are constantly moving, floating and moving. If, for example, a portrait of a person is depicted in such a color scheme, then depending on the color it will change both its contour and its shape.

Moving pictures optical illusion with explanation: photo with explanations

Eyes see movement due to correctly selected colors

The good thing about moving pictures is that they create a realistic effect. When a person looks at them, it seems to him that he really sees a waterfall or a sea that sways. The best thing in this case is that a person does not need to take absolutely any action to see everything correctly. As a rule, at the first glance at such a visual illusion, the eyes immediately catch the movement of some individual details.

Geometric moving picture

In case this happens geometric picture, then it will be created using contrasting shades and identical geometric shapes. In this case, the eyes will perceive it almost the same as a black and white image, making it seem to the person that the drawing is constantly in motion.

GIFs are an optical illusion

The square can only be seen when turning

The picture shows how you can visually enlarge an object

GIFs, like any other illusion pictures, deceive the human eye and it does not perceive them exactly as it did initially. In this case, everything is built on movement. It is from the speed and in which direction the elements move that a person can see different images.

Also, gifs allow you to visually reduce large objects quite well and enlarge very small ones. This happens by moving closer or further from the object you will be looking at.

Visual illusion pictures of hypnosis: photos with explanations

Optical illusion with depth effect

Hypnosis picture focusing attention on a central point

Hypnosis pictures- these are images that can lead a person into lung condition trance promoting relaxation nervous system. Most often, this effect is achieved with the same contrast and the same type of lines or figures, placed from largest to smallest. Looking at the image, a person tries to understand the secret of the continuous movement of objects in his field of vision.

And the more he tries to solve the riddle of the hypnosis picture, the more he plunges into a kind of trance. If you try long time look into the center of such an optical illusion, then it will inevitably begin to seem to you that you are moving along some kind of corridor or simply falling somewhere. This state will cause you to relax and forget about everyday problems and obstacles for a while.

Double pictures of visual illusions: photos with explanations

The double meaning of minimalism

Mirror optical illusion

The main secret of double optical illusions is the almost complete repetition of all, even the smallest lines. This creates a mirror effect that allows you to create an image that will look different from different angles. In this case, you can combine two completely different designs in the picture, as long as they fit each other perfectly in shape and color scheme.

Also double picture may consist of two completely different images, just when you look at it you will see the outlines of the same figure.

Pictures for visual deception for children: photos with explanations

Pictures for visual deception for children

In principle, visual illusion pictures for children are also based on the contrast of colors, the depth of lines and a correctly selected background. It’s just that, unlike images for adults, in this case, upside-down pictures are most often used.

By looking at them, the baby tries to recognize what his eyes actually see, thereby helping him develop logical thinking. And in order to make it easier for small children to perceive what they see, as a rule, the drawings depict animals or plants that are familiar to them.

For example, this could be a drawing that depicts a cat that turns into an angry dog ​​when it turns over.

In addition, children perceive very well pictures in which the same object has different lengths. In this case, the illusion effect is achieved by the correct background and different colors two figures completely identical in shape.

Geometric visual illusion pictures, triangles with explanations

Geometric illusion

Geometric illusions- this is nothing more than an image of objects of different shapes, which the eye perceives not quite as is customary in geometry. In this case, the ability of the human eye to determine the color, direction and size of objects is used.

But if in geometry they are arranged according to certain rules, then in this case, for example, a rectangle can be composed of several triangles of different sizes. This illusion is designed so that a person, instead of seeing triangles, will look at parallel lines and try to understand how similar they are.

Also in geometric illusions, contrast in size is very often used. Looking at such an image, a person does not see that the two central circles are the same size. Even when looking closely, he thinks that the circle surrounded by smaller objects is larger than the one surrounded by larger ones.

Pictures of optical illusion with a dress: photos with explanations

Pictures of optical illusion with a dress

If you spend a lot of time on the Internet, then you have probably already come across a picture with a question about the color of a dress. As a rule, people cannot give a definite answer to this question as in different time day they see a different shade of the outfit. What is this connected with? As already mentioned at the very beginning of our article, the human eye is a rather complex mechanism, the main one of which is the retina (responsible for the correct perception of color).

The retina itself consists of rods and cones, the number of which determines how brightly a person perceives a particular color. For this reason, the dress may appear soft blue to some people, while deep blue to others. When it comes to optical illusions, lighting plays a huge role. In daylight it will appear lighter, but in artificial light it will appear much brighter and darker.

Picture for optical illusion – “Girl or old woman”: photo with explanations

Picture for optical illusion – “Girl or old woman”

Each of us has experienced the “Girl or Old Woman” optical illusion at least once in our lives. But, having looked at it, we simply forget about it and don’t even think about why our eyes see such a dual picture. In fact, in this case, completely two different images are skillfully connected to each other in one drawing.

If you pay closer attention, you will realize that one pattern flows smoothly into the other. For example, the oval of a young girl’s face simultaneously serves as the nose of an old woman, and her ear serves as the eye of an elderly woman.

Surrealism tattoo for optical illusion: photos, explanations

Tattoo imitating the flight of a butterfly

Surreal tattoo

Tattoo with volumetric effect

As you probably already understood, an optical illusion is nothing more than a correctly drawn picture. Therefore, if you wish, you can easily get yourself a tattoo in the style of surrealism.

All you have to do is apply it using contrasting colors, the right directions and background. All this will help you create voluminous and even visually moving images on your skin. You can see an example of a tattoo in the style of surrealism a little higher.

Optical illusions of perception in the interior: photos with explanations

Mirror surfaces in the interior

Optical illusions are good because they can radically change any room. Mirror surfaces are considered the simplest visual deception. With their help, even the smallest room will seem huge and bright.

Horizontal lines on walls

Different textures change the space well. If you want to easily stretch the room, then decorate the walls with horizontal lines. If, on the contrary, you need to reduce something, then frame it with vertical lines.

Floating table in the interior

If you wish, you can decorate your kitchen with so-called floating furniture. To do this, you will only need to buy a table whose legs will be made of either transparent plastic or glass.

Hidden doors

Also, if you wish, you can decorate your home with an invisible door. To achieve a similar effect, you will have to install a door with hidden hinges, and then decorate it in the same color as the walls.

Optical Illusion: Dress Form

Optical illusion: color

As you probably already understood, visual deception can help a person make the world around him more organic, and this applies not only to the interior. If you need to correct your figure, you can try to do this using optical illusions. All that will be required of you is to choose the right color and shape of your outfits.

Surrealism in painting: photos, paintings, explanations

Surrealism in painting

Two-faced picture

Optical illusions are very popular among artists. They help them make their paintings deeper and more interesting not only visually, but also semantically. As a rule, for this they use so-called two-faced pictures.

Most often, in this way they try to disguise the caricature. Surrealist artists use a similar technique to create drawings with a triple image, thereby trying to give their masterpiece a deeper meaning. You can see examples of such paintings a little higher.

Paintings in the style of surrealism by Salvador Dali

Tenderness and strength in one picture

Salvador Dali is considered the most famous surrealist in the world. He always painted images in his paintings that made a person far from art think. This is probably why even now people look at his masterpieces with great pleasure and try to understand what the great artist was thinking about when he painted them.

Video: 3D drawings, incredible optical illusions, optical illusions

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Even the most hardened skeptics believe what their senses tell them, but the senses are easily deceived.

An optical illusion is 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 visual system. Many researchers have been studying the causes of their occurrence.

Some visual illusions have long had a scientific explanation, others still remain a mystery.

website continues to collect the coolest optical illusions. Be careful! Some illusions may cause tears, headache and disorientation in space.

Endless chocolate

If you cut a chocolate bar 5 by 5 and rearrange all the pieces in the order shown, then out of nowhere an extra piece of chocolate will appear. You can do the same with an ordinary chocolate bar and make sure that this is not computer graphics, but a real-life riddle.

Illusion of bars

Take a look at these bars. Depending on which end you are looking at, the two pieces of wood will either be next to each other, or one of them will be lying on top of the other.

Cube and two identical cups

Optical illusion created by Chris Westall. There is a cup on the table, next to which there is a cube with a small cup. However, upon closer examination, we can see that in fact the cube is drawn, and the cups are exactly the same size. A similar effect is noticeable only at a certain angle.

Illusion "Cafe Wall"

Take a close look at the image. 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. This is where its name came from.

Illusion of the Leaning Tower of Pisa

Above you see two pictures 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 visual system views the two images as part of a single scene. Therefore, it seems to us that both photographs are not symmetrical.

Vanishing circles

This illusion is called "Vanishing Circles". It consists of 12 lilac arranged in a circle pink spots with a black cross in the middle. Each spot disappears in a circle for about 0.1 seconds, and if you focus on the central cross, you can get the following effect:
1) at first it will seem that there is a green spot running around
2) then the purple spots will start to disappear

People have been familiar with optical illusions for thousands of years. The Romans made 3D mosaics to decorate their homes, the Greeks used perspective to build beautiful pantheons, and at least one Paleolithic stone figurine depicts two different animals, which can be seen depending on the point of view.

Mammoth and bison

A lot can get lost on the way from your eyes to your brain. In most cases this system works great. Your eyes move rapidly and almost imperceptibly from side to side, delivering scattered pictures of what is happening to your brain. The brain organizes them, determines the context, putting the puzzle pieces together into something that makes sense.

For example, you are standing on a street corner, cars are passing through a pedestrian crossing, and the traffic light is red. Pieces of information add up to the conclusion: now is not the best best time to cross the street. Most of the time this works great, but sometimes, even though your eyes are sending visual signals, your brain is trying to decipher them.

In particular, this often happens when templates are involved. Our brain needs them to process information faster, using less energy. But these same patterns can lead him astray.

As you can see in the image of the illusion with chessboard, the brain does not like to change patterns. When small specks change the pattern of a single chess square, the brain begins to interpret them as a large bulge in the center of the board.

The brain also often makes mistakes about color. The same color can look different on different backgrounds. In the image below, both of the girl's eyes are the same color, but by changing the background, one appears blue.

The next optical illusion is the Cafe Wall Illusion.

Researchers at the University of Bristol discovered this illusion in 1970 thanks to a mosaic wall in a cafe, which is where it gets its name.

The gray lines between the rows of black and white squares appear to be at an angle, but in fact they are parallel to each other. Your brain, confused by the contrasting and closely spaced squares, sees the gray lines as part of a mosaic, above or below the squares. As a result, the illusion of a trapezoid is created.

Scientists suggest that the illusion is created due to the joint action of neural mechanisms at different levels: retinal neurons and visual cortex neurons.

The illusion with arrows has a similar mechanism of action: the white lines are actually parallel, although they do not seem so. But here the brain is confused by the contrast of colors.

An optical illusion can also be created due to perspective, for example, like the chessboard illusion.

Due to the fact that the brain is familiar with the laws of perspective, it seems to you that the distant blue line is longer than the green one in the foreground. In fact they are the same length.

The next type of optical illusion is pictures in which two images can be found.

In this painting, hidden between the flowers are the faces of Napoleon, his second wife Marie-Louise of Austria and their son. Such images are used to develop attention. Found faces?

Here is another picture with a double image called “My Wife and Mother-in-Law.”

It was invented by William Ely Hill in 1915 and published in the American satirical magazine Puck.

The brain can also add color to pictures, as in the case of the fox illusion.

If you look at the left side of the fox picture for a while and then move your gaze to the right side, it will turn from white to reddish. Scientists still do not know what causes such illusions.

Here's another illusion with color. Look at the woman's face for 30 seconds and then look at a white wall.

Unlike the fox illusion, in this case the brain inverts the colors - you see a projection of a face on a white background that acts as a movie screen.

And here visual demonstration how our brain processes visual information. In this incomprehensible mosaic of faces, you can easily recognize Bill and Hillary Clinton.

The brain creates an image from pieces of information received. Without this ability, we would not be able to drive a car or cross the road safely.

The last illusion is two colored cubes. Is the orange cube inside or outside?

Depending on your point of view, the orange cube may be inside the blue cube or floating on the outside. This illusion works due to your perception of depth, and the interpretation of the picture depends on what your brain considers true.

As you can see, despite the fact that our brain copes well with everyday tasks, in order to deceive it, it is enough to break the established pattern, use contrasting colors or the desired perspective.

Do you think this is often the case in real life?

11/15/2016 11/16/2016 by Vlad

An optical illusion is 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, while others have not yet been explained.

Don't take optical illusions seriously, trying to understand and solve them, it's just how our vision works. So human brain processes visible light reflected from pictures.
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.

There are a huge variety of optical illusions, but we tried to collect the most interesting, crazy and incredible ones for you. Be careful: some of them can cause tearing, nausea and disorientation.

12 black dots

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

Impossible figures

At one time, this genre of graphics became so widespread that it even received proper name- impossibilism. Each of these figures seems quite real on paper, but simply cannot exist in the physical world.

Impossible trident

Classic blivet– perhaps the most striking representative of optical drawings from the “impossible figures” category. No matter how you try, you will not be able to determine where the middle prong originates.

Another shining example– impossible Penrose triangle.

It is in the form of the so-called "endless staircase".

And "impossible elephant" Roger Shepard.

Ames room

Issues of optical illusions interested Adelbert Ames Jr. early childhood. After becoming an ophthalmologist, he continued his research into depth perception, which resulted in the famous Ames Room.

How does the Ames room work?

In a nutshell, the effect of Ames's room can be conveyed as follows: it seems that in the left and right corners of its back wall there are two people - a dwarf and a giant. Of course, this is an optical trick, and in fact these people are of quite normal height. In reality, the room has an elongated trapezoidal shape, but due to false perspective it appears rectangular to us. The left corner is farther away from the visitors’ view than the right, and therefore the person standing there seems so small.

Movement Illusions

This category of optical tricks is of greatest interest to psychologists. Most of them are based on the subtleties of color combinations, the brightness of objects and their repetition. All these tricks mislead our peripheral vision, as a result of which the perception mechanism gets confused, the retina captures the image intermittently, spasmodically, and the brain activates the areas of the cortex responsible for recognizing movement.

floating star

It's hard to believe that this picture is not an animated GIF, but an ordinary optical illusion. The drawing was created by Japanese artist Kaya Nao in 2012. A pronounced illusion of movement is achieved due to the opposite direction of the patterns in the center and along the edges.

There are quite a few similar illusions of movement, that is, static images that appear to be moving. For example, famous rotating circle.

Moving arrows

Rays from the center

Striped spirals

Moving figures

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.

Changeling illusions

The most numerous and fun genre of illusion drawings is based on changing the direction of looking at a graphic object. The simplest inverted drawings just need to be rotated 180 or 90 degrees.

Horse or frog

Nurse or old woman

Beauty or Ugly

Cute girls?

Flip the image

Girl/old woman

One of the most popular dual images was published in 1915 in the cartoon magazine Puck. The caption to the drawing read: “My wife and mother-in-law.”

Old people/Mexicans

An elderly couple or Mexicans singing with a guitar? Most people see old people first, and only then their eyebrows turn into sombreros and their eyes into faces. The authorship belongs to the Mexican artist Octavio Ocampo, who created many illusion pictures of a similar nature.

Lovers/dolphins

Surprisingly, the interpretation of this psychological illusion depends on the person’s age. As a rule, children see dolphins frolicking in the water - their brains, not yet familiar with sexual relationships and their symbols, simply do not isolate two lovers in this composition. Older people, on the contrary, see the couple first, and only then the dolphins.

The list of such dual pictures can be continued endlessly:

Does this cat go down or up the stairs?

Which way is the window open?

You can change direction just by thinking about it.

Illusions of color and contrast

Unfortunately, the human eye is imperfect, and in our assessments of what we see (without noticing it ourselves) we often rely on the color environment and brightness of the background of the object. This leads to some very interesting optical illusions.

Gray squares

Optical illusions of colors are one of the most popular types of optical illusion. Yes, squares A and B are painted the same color.

This trick is possible due to the way our brain works. A shadow without sharp boundaries falls on square B. Thanks to the darker "surrounding" and the smooth shadow gradient, it appears to be significantly darker than square A.

Green spiral

There are only three colors in this photo: pink, orange and green.

Don't believe me? This is what you get when you replace pink and orange with black.

Is the dress white and gold or blue and black?

However, illusions based on color perception are not uncommon. Take, for example, the white-gold or black-and-blue dress that conquered the Internet in 2015. What color was this mysterious dress really, and why? different people Did you perceive it differently?

The explanation of the dress phenomenon is very simple: as in the case of gray squares, everything depends on the imperfect chromatic adaptation of our visual organs. As you know, the human retina consists of two types of receptors: rods and cones. Rods capture light better, while cones capture color better. Each person has a different ratio of cones to rods, so the determination of the color and shape of an object is slightly different depending on the dominance of one or another type of receptor.

Those who saw the dress in white and gold noticed the brightly lit background and decided that the dress was in the shadows, which means White color should be darker than usual. If the dress seemed blue-black to you, it means that your eye first of all paid attention to the main color of the dress, which in this photo actually has a blue tint. Then your brain judged that the golden hue was black, lightened due to the sun's rays directed at the dress and the poor quality of the photo.

In reality the dress was blue with black lace.

Here's another photo that baffled millions of users who couldn't decide whether it was a wall in front of them or a lake.

Optical illusions on video

Ballerina

This crazy optical illusion is misleading: it is difficult to determine which leg of the figure is the supporting leg and, as a result, to understand in which direction the ballerina is rotating. Even if you succeed, while watching the video the supporting leg may “change” and the girl seems to begin to rotate in the other direction.

If you were able to easily fix the direction of the ballerina’s movement, this indicates a rational, practical mindset of your mind. If the ballerina rotates in different directions, this means that you have a wild, not always consistent imagination. Contrary to popular belief, this does not affect the dominance of the right or left hemisphere.

Monster faces

If you look at the cross in the center for a long time, your peripheral vision will frighteningly distort the faces of celebrities.

Optical illusions in design

An optical illusion can be a spectacular help for those who want to add zest to their home. Very often “impossible figures” are used in design.

It seemed that the impossible triangle was doomed to remain just an illusion on paper. But no - a design studio from Valencia immortalized it in the form of a spectacular minimalist vase.

Bookshelf inspired by the impossible trident. The author is Norwegian designer Bjorn Blikstad.

Here is a shelving unit inspired by one of the most famous optical illusions – parallel lines by Johann Zellner. All the shelves are parallel to each other - otherwise what would be the use of such a cabinet - but even those who purchased such a rack a long time ago find it difficult to get rid of the impression of slanted lines.

The creators were inspired by the same example. Zellner rug».

Of interest to lovers of unusual things is a chair designed by Chris Duffy. It appears to rest solely on its front legs. But if you risk sitting on it, you will understand that the shadow cast by the chair is its main support.