by New York University The “scintillating starburst” stimulus. This stimulus is made up of several concentric pairs of scaled star polygons. Most observers perceive fleeting rays, beams, or lines emanating from the center that appear to be brighter than the background. Credit: Michael Karlovich, Recursia LLC A new class of illusion, developed by a visual artist...
by Niia Nikolova, Nick Wade, The Conversation Humans are fascinated by visual illusions, which occur when there is a mismatch between the pattern of light that falls on the retina, and what we perceive. Before books, films, and the internet allowed illusions to be shared widely, people were captivated by illusions in nature. Indeed, it is here that...
Exposure to a common visual illusion may enhance your ability to read fine print, according to new research from psychologists at the Universities of York and Glasgow. The team discovered that visual acuity—the ability to see fine detail—can be enhanced by an illusion known as the ‘expanding motion aftereffect’. While under its spell, viewers can...
