Visual Illusions: Their Causes, Characteristics and ApplicationsLuckiesh, Matthew
Science
Visual Illusions: Their Causes, Characteristics and Applications
Luckiesh, Matthew
Optical illusions
[Illustration: Fig. 11.--Two equal semicircles.]
[Illustration: Fig. 12.--Arcs of the same circle.]
[Illustration: Fig. 13.--Three incomplete but equal squares.]
_Illusions of Contrast._--Those illusions due to brightness contrast are
not included in this group, for "contrast" here refers to lines, angles
and areas of different sizes. In general, parts adjacent to large extents
appear smaller and those adjacent to small extents appear larger. A simple
case is shown in Fig. 14, where the middle sections of the two lines are
equal, but that of the shorter line appears longer than that of the longer
line. In Fig. 15 the two parts of the connecting line are equal, but they
do not appear so. This illusion is not as positive as the preceding one
and, in fact, the position of the short vertical dividing line may appear
to fluctuate considerably.
[Illustration: Fig. 14.--Middle sections of the two lines are equal.]
[Illustration: Fig. 15.--An effect of contrasting areas (Baldwin's
figure).]
Fig. 16 might be considered to be an illusion of contour, but the length
of the top horizontal line of the lower figure being apparently less than
that of the top line of the upper figure is due largely to contrasting the
two figures. Incidentally, it is difficult to believe that the maximum
horizontal width of the lower figure is as great as the maximum height of
the figure. At this point it is of interest to refer to other contrast
illusions such as Figs. 20, 57, and 59.
[Illustration: Fig. 16.--An illusion of contrast.]
A striking illusion of contrast is shown in Fig. 17, where the central
circles of the two figures are equal, although the one surrounded by the
large circles appears much smaller than the other. Similarly, in Fig. 18
the inner circles of _b_ and _c_ are equal but that of _b_ appears the
larger. The inner circle of _a_ appears larger than the outer circle of
_b_, despite their actual equality.
[Illustration: Fig. 17.--Equal circles which appear unequal due to
contrast (Ebbinghaus' figure).]
[Illustration: Fig. 18.--Equal circles appearing unequal owing to
contrasting concentric circles.]
In Fig. 19 the circle nearer the apex of the angle appears larger than the
other. This has been presented as one reason why the sun and moon appear
larger at the horizon than when at higher altitudes. This explanation must
be based upon the assumption that we interpret the "vault" of the sky to
meet at the horizon in a manner somewhat similar to the angle but it is
difficult to imagine such an angle made by the vault of the sky and the
earth's horizon. If there were one in reality, it would not be seen in
profile.
[Illustration: Fig. 19.--Circles influenced by position within an angle.]
[Illustration: Fig. 20.--Contrasting angles.]
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