The Hermann grid optical illusion, explained

In this image, do you see some­thing oth­er than black and white? Does it mat­ter if you look direct­ly at one of the black blocks, vs. at one of the inter­sec­tions? While there are real­ly only black blocks and white spaces in the grid, the high con­trast black and white areas fool the eyes into per­ceiv­ing a gray…

Read More

Brain Games and Optical Illusions @ National Geographic

Sev­er­al Sharp­Brains friends rec­om­mend the recent 3‑part Nation­al Geo­graph­ic TV mini-series Brain Games focused on Per­cep­tion, Atten­tion and Mem­o­ry. You can learn about the series and exper­i­ment a good num­ber of visu­al illu­sions Here. You may also enjoy this arti­cle on Visu­al Illu­sions in Art and Sci­ence, and these clas­sic illu­sions from our own brain…

Read More