The Volokh Conspiracy
[Orin Kerr, October 21, 2005 at 4:52pm] Trackbacks
Really Cool Optical Illusion:
Check it out here. Thanks to Michael Cernovich for the link.
DM Andy (mail):
Yay, forget Marriage Debate, this is what this site should be about :-)
10.21.2005 4:59pm
Tom952 (mail):
Perceptions are indeed different in our minds from the objective reality. Other areas of intense processing and distortion is the way we perceive faces, including our own. We can recognize a person from the merest fragment of their face, a task still beyond the best computer recognition algorithms. However, when we view ourselves, our mind invokes "filters" that distort our perception of ourselves, giving us a significantly more or less favorable image of ourselves than is really there. When you first glimse a photo of yourself, for a split second you see yourself as others do, before your mind triggers the filters for you. Rita Carter explores this and other facinating topics in her excellent book "Mapping The Mind".
10.21.2005 5:07pm
tdsj:
that is absolutely incredible.
10.21.2005 5:11pm
Kevin W.:
This one is pretty striking too. Actually pretty much everything on Baez's site is fun, if you're an intellectually curious type with a little math background.

And don't look at this one if you're prone to epileptic seizures...
10.21.2005 5:25pm
Cheburashka (mail):
This is a vast improvement to the conspiracy since that dammed marriage blogger took it over.

That stuff was soooooo verbose and off-putting.
10.21.2005 5:27pm
EricH (mail):
This is one of the better arguments against gay marriage.

Our senses - rationalism - has its limits. E.g., Burke on prejudice, rightly understood.

Tongue in cheek, but not firmly planted.
10.21.2005 5:38pm
tefta (mail):
Saw a green dot bopping along on top of the pink ones.

The striped puzzle reminded me of a time long ago when we ironed our clothes. Youngsters google ironing to find out what I mean.

I had a very nice grey and black striped shirt and when I tried to iron it, I nearly passed out. So I had to iron it by turning away and looking at what I was doing by peripheral vision. Deep sixed the shirt after a few wearings.
10.21.2005 6:36pm
ajf (mail) (www):
i assume this optical illusion occurs for the same reason you get an "afterimage" when you stare at something too long. something having to do with the cones in your eyes, and how light-based complementary colors (as opposed to pigment-based) cancel each other out.
10.21.2005 7:18pm
matt (mail) (www):
afj: you're right. it's not exactly an 'amazing how our brain works' thing, as the page says; it's the cones in our eyes adapting to unchanging conditions. they stop announcing the color after a while (you can think of it as the cones getting tired) and when the color itself goes away, the cones that aren't tired still fire, so you perceive the chromatically opposite color. amazing how our eyes cut corners.
10.21.2005 7:51pm
RJL (mail):
I would love to put that in front of a jury.
10.21.2005 8:20pm
magoo (mail):
If you look at it after several Genesee Cream Ales, it starts green and then turns pink.
10.21.2005 9:07pm
Andy (mail) (www):
Funny, I'm looking at this after 4 pints of Yuengling and the ring of pink (and green) dots seem to be moving horizontally...
10.21.2005 9:18pm
Tom952 (mail):
Yea, I've seen that one before in Europe. Its a trick. If you can see the green dot, it means you have activity in the gay part of your brain. Orin really got you this time.
10.22.2005 2:02am
Brian G (mail) (www):
My lawyer will be in contact with you for redress. I need $12 million for my sprained eye.

(Somehow, I think someone will know the reference)
10.23.2005 3:09am

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