Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Motion Illusions


Here's a false motion illusion, caused by the cognitive effects of interacting color boundaries.


It looks to me like the tentacles of a colorful creature. The tentacle you're not looking at is the one that slithers forward. Or you might see it as the feet of an Oopsidoofus as he slides his feet into his knitted socks.

The effect usually happens best in the periphery of the retina.

In this peripheral drift illusion, the wheels seem to rotate when the eye scans text.

Thanks, Christopher!

4 comments:

Joel Wetzel said...

Off this topic but very exciting movie "Tim's Vermeer" worth whatever it takes to see.

I hope I'm the one bringing it to your attention.

James Gurney said...

Hi, Joel, thanks. Actually a bunch of people have mentioned it, but I haven't gotten a chance to see it yet.

greenishthing said...

something's wrong with me: it doesn't work with me, but I have no real binocular vision so..... odd

Tom Hart said...

It's the darndest thing (to me, anyway): The top one was working like crazy for me first thing this morning, but now (mid-afternoon), it's really not moving at all. In the past it always seemed like these types of illusions worked better when I WAS a little tired, the eyes less focused. But today it's the reverse. Just me, no doubt...