blog #8

One optical illusion is a blivet, also called the impossible trident. It is called an impossible trident because it is impossible to understand. The shape has three cylinder prongs at one end and then gradually turns into rectangular prongs. If you cover half of the object you will find that the figure is possible to comprehend. When looking at the figure you first try to distinguish the outlines of the shape, and from this your try to perceive the boundaries of the shape. Your eyes become confused because of the several ambiguous contours. The outer edges can be interpreted as a rectangle shape or that of cylinder. Altogether, the figure gives contradictory cues for the depth estimation of the middle prong. The illusion is a simple angle trick played on the visual system. It is all about perception. The best optical illusions challenge our perception of reality. Our minds tend to reconstruct 3D imager out of the flat 2D image; it creates the illusion of depth. The printmaker M.C. Escher used this illusion in many of his woodcut prints. The figure was also on the cover of Mad magazine in 1965.
        Optical Illusions can use an array of tools to create images that are deceptive or misleading to our brains. Some optical illusions include color, light, or patterns. The information gathered by the eye is processed by the brain, creating a perception that in reality, does not match the true image. We are forcing our brains to see three-dimensional perceptions when we are really seeing two-dimensional visual information.
        There a plenty grid illusions out there but one of the most famous one’s is the Hermann grid illusion. Ludimar Hermann discovered the Hermann grid illusion in 1870. When looking at the illusion you see grey blobs that almost seem “ghostlike” that are visible at the intersection of a white and black grid background. You see the “ghost like” blobs in the grid but when you stare right at the spot where the blob should be, it disappears. Another grid illusion that is very similar is the Scintillating grid illusion. E. Lingelbach founded this illusion in 1994. In this illusion black and white dots appear spontaneously when looking at the grid. The difference between the two grid illusions is that the Scintillating grid has dots in place at the intersections when the Hermann grid does not. What makes them both optical illusions is a neural process called lateral inhibition. Lateral inhibition occurs when the activity of one cell suppresses the activity of a nearby cell. This causes the edges between light and dark areas to appear more prominent than they would be otherwise.

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