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Neat optical illusion

Forty-Two

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This was listed on FARK.com a few days ago as "The coolest trick you'll play on your brain today." It's a great optical illusion; I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

http://www.johnsadowski.com/big_spanish_castle.html

(Note: It works best if you follow the directions; I swear it's not one of those "crazy, scary-looking image jumps out at you" tricks.)
 
Whoa! That totally rocks!

It only stays in colour for a split second for me, even if I don't move my eyes. Or maybe I'm moving them without realising. Either way, that's ace.
 
Pretty good, reminds me of the reverse-color US flag projection trick. :-)

Here's the most jawdropping animated GIF I've ever seen.

http://vygotsky.sfasu.edu/Courses/psy133/rotate_circles.jpg

The amazing part is that it's not animated. Let your gaze wander around the pattern and see the "snakes" slowly turn while not moving at all. I can't resist seeing motion even while knowing perfectly well that it's static. Can you?

[edit] Here's the parent page: http://vygotsky.sfasu.edu/Courses/psy133/illusions.html
 
Meffy said:
Pretty good, reminds me of the reverse-color US flag projection trick. :-)

Here's the most jawdropping animated GIF I've ever seen.

http://vygotsky.sfasu.edu/Courses/psy133/rotate_circles.jpg

The amazing part is that it's not animated. Let your gaze wander around the pattern and see the "snakes" slowly turn while not moving at all. I can't resist seeing motion even while knowing perfectly well that it's static. Can you?

[edit] Here's the parent page: http://vygotsky.sfasu.edu/Courses/psy133/illusions.html
Click to expand...

I can get one to stay still if I focus on the dots, but the ones in my peripheral vision still spin. I love this sort of thing. Richard Wiseman did a great presentation of visual illusions at TAM4, totally worth seeing.
 
For me, as long as I don't look at one place for more than a couple seconds, the wheels whirl. I can't figure how it does that. I think I understand how the trick in the OP works -- overlays an after-image (in reverse color, as they are) upon a grayscale image. Very clever, so dramatic!

Did Wiseman's presentation touch on the problems with eyewitness accounts? Tricks of motion and geometry that make Venus seem to dash around like an alien recon ship, that kind thing?
 
OK, whenever this subject comes up I always like to bring out this one. Look closely and note which side has the angry face.

Then, squint (or view at a distance) and see what happens!

171448f6cfc93a73.jpg


First found on Ian Rowland's pages.
Ian Rowland illusion page
 
Love this stuff! Keep it up!

PS. We should post it on the homeopath forums, and see if they get freaked by it. You know - things appearing to be what they are not, and all that...
 
Hmm, I saw the castle one the other day and couldn't make it work. Perhaps the server was being hammered and I wasn't allowing time for the second image to load. It certainly works now :)

This is a pretty nice one (also from the link above, in fact)

dotillusion.gif
 
richardm said:
Hmm, I saw the castle one the other day and couldn't make it work. Perhaps the server was being hammered and I wasn't allowing time for the second image to load. It certainly works now :)
This is a pretty nice one (also from the link above, in fact)
Click to expand...

:exeyes:
 
Teek said:
It only stays in colour for a split second for me, even if I don't move my eyes. Or maybe I'm moving them without realising. Either way, that's ace.
Click to expand...
Stare at the dot longer.

Hey Ian! This one's cool!

~~ Paul
 
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