Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Gravity defying ramp

Found this in a news article in Nature where they talk about the Best Optical Illusion of the Year. The winning illusion makes downward-sloping ramps appear to run uphill :)

Watch it here:



The competition, hosted by the Neural Correlate Society, is the "Oscars of perception," says society president Susana Martinez-Conde. The trophies are themselves visual illusions — wooden sculptures that look vastly different depending on the observer's point of view.

Now, isn't that cool!!!

I like what one finalist says..... "Illusions are cool and fun, but they're important because they are mistakes of the visual system that give us clues about how the underlying processes work when they're functioning properly."

Funny workings of the brain!

3 comments:

  1. Totally agree. as fascinating as the illusions are in themselves, what is more fascinating is what they tell us about how brain works.

    hmmm... maybe I should post that blue/green illusion or that "same shade of gray" illusion too....

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  2. yup.... you should. I especially like the "same shade of gray", its incredible!!

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  3. Sahi.. this was too good!! Just saw now! :)

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