Site search Search. Site search Search Menu. How does an optical illusion work? Last updated:. Share this post. Trial planned for potential treatment for motor neurone dise Trekking towards a breakthrough in dementia.
Emergency Phone: In other words, your perception of an illusion has more to do with how your brain works -- and less to do with the optics of your eye. An illusion is "a mismatch between the immediate visual impression and the actual properties of the object," said Michael Bach, a vision scientist and professor of neurobiophysics at the University of Freiburg Eye Hospital in Freiburg, Germany, who studies illusions and has a large collection of them on a Web site.
Everything that enters the senses needs to be interpreted through the brain -- and these interpretations occasionally go wrong, Bach told ABCNews. Illusions, he said, may serve as a test bed to determine whether scientists understand vision correctly. Although people popularly call some brain teasers "optical illusions," this might not be the best term for them, as scientists make a distinction between optical illusions and what they call visual illusions.
An optical illusion suggests that the illusion arises because of some properties of the eye, Bach pointed out. But since optical illusions are rare, a better and more accurate term is "visual illusions," because this helps to explain why these perceptions happen.
Floaters are small specks, spots or shadowy shapes that seemingly float in your field of vision. To some, they look like a bright white snow or flashes of light. Floaters are caused by tiny irregularities in the fluid that fills the eye. In other words, they're real. They become more common as one gets older. But nearly every other illusion happens at the brain level, which is why scientists say they shouldn't be called "optical illusions," and why the term "visual illusions" is more appropriate.
Instead of thinking that you cannot trust your eyes when you see an illusion, you really should be saying, "I cannot always trust my visual system," said Bach. The visual system includes not only the eyes but the optic nerve, which links the eye to the brain; and the primary visual cortex, the area of the brain that processes visual information. According to Bach, seeing stars results from a mechanical stimulation and activation of the neurons in the eye, which your brain misinterprets as light.
Light does not enter the eye when you hit your head, but your visual system perceives it that way. I'm doing a project on optical illusions for my school. I was wondering, who is the author of this article? Mar 27, Josey Mar 3, That was a very good article. It gave me a lot of information. Mar 6, Crazy, stuff, right Mat? Thanks for checking out this Wonder with us! Oct 16, Feb 27, So glad you enjoyed this Wonder today, Kendall! Emma Jan 12, Jan 13, Christian Dec 1, Dec 2, Ayden May 23, All this stuff is really cool, but I need more info for my project!
Sep 8, We're glad you joined the conversation, aiden! Haley Aug 18, Hailey Sep 22, Sep 22, Aug 19, May 26, Only 10 Oct 21, Is answering questions fun if it is I want to have your job when I grow up. Oct 22, Of course it's fun! Brianna Apr 20, What information can I use for a citation and where can I find it? For example: name of author, date of publication.
Wonderopolis Apr 21, Nov 11, Wonderopolis Jul 21, Stella Oct 28, Wonderopolis Oct 28, Thanks for sharing your enthusiastic comment, Stella! Wonderopolis May 8, Nicole H Mar 19, That video was awesome!
Optical illusions can do some crazy stuff to the eyes! Wonderopolis Mar 20, Skylar Dec 27, Wow the video was soooooo cool. At first I had no idea what was happening but at the end my brother and I said whoa!!!!!! At the same time. Wonderopolis Dec 28, The picador May 8, I never knew optical illusions could look 3 dimensional!
Could you do another one? Daesha Apr 27, Wonderopolis Apr 27, This video is really awesome. Mind blowing, I really love this video. Wonderopolis Mar 2, I never knew that there was so many optical illusions! When I look at them, they are kind of freaky! Especially the illusions with two different objects. I kind of get dizzy when looking at the spinning ones.
Optical illusions are awesome! I also thought the video was cool, too! Wonderopolis Oct 23, I love optical illusions, because I like to try to find out how they trick your mind. I didn't know that there were so many optical illusions, like ambiguous, distorted, and paradox illusions. I loved learning about illusions, and I'm going to find out more! Wonderopolis Oct 20, How does it do that??????!!!!! That's amazing how illusions work and also kind of confusing.
Wonderopolis Oct 18, I love watching optical illusions because after a while I start getting dizzy and feel as if everything is spinning. It's amazing how when you draw an optical illusion you have to draw every line just so and when your finished, it's like looking through an alternate universe. When you said that it's your eyes that are taking fake information to your head and that's how you see the illusion, I started to not trust my eyes.
I once had a book that had one illusion after the other and pretty soon I saw everything in a new perspective! I think optical illusions are so interesting and I think this is a wonderful wonder! Wonderopolis Oct 16, Jack Proctor MC Oct 5, This was such an interesting wonder! I had no idea that there are so many different types of illusions including distorting and ambiguous illusions. I thought that there weren't any different types of illusions, just regular optical illusions.
I am wondering why and how artist draw and create illusions.
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