INTRODUCTION
you may underestimate or overestimate: Russell E. Jackson and Lawrence K. Comack, “Evolved Navigation Theory and the Descent Illusion,” Perception & Psychophysics 69, no. 3 (2007): 353–62.
1. BRIGHTNESS AND CONTRAST ILLUSIONS
This illusion by Anderson and Winawer: Barton L. Anderson and Jonathan Winawer, “Image Segmentation and Lightness Perception,” Nature 434, no. 7029 (2005): 79–83, doi:10.1038/nature03271; B. L. Anderson and J. Winawer, “Layered Image Representations and the Computation of Surface Lightness,” Journal of Vision 8, no. 7 (2008): 1–22, doi:10.1167/8.7.18.
The neural bases of this effect: “Dynamic Luminance,” aka “Here Comes the Sun,” aka “Luminance Star,” published in Bangor Daily News, Sept. 11, 2006; in “The Art of Perception,” UMaine Today, Sept.–Oct. 2007; and in Michael Baziljevich, Sansenes Vidunderlige Verden.
If you look at a textured surface: Lothar Spillmann, Joe Hardy, Peter Delahunt, Baingio Pinna, and John S. Werner, “Brightness Enhancement Seen Through a Tube,” Perception 39, no. 11 (2010): 1504–13, doi:10.1068/p6765.
The classical explanation: G. Baumgartner, “Indirekte Grössenbestimmung der rezeptiven Felder der Retina beim Menschen mittels der Hermannschen Gitteräuschung,” Pflügers Archiv für die gesamte Physiologie des Menschen und der Tiere 272: 21–22, doi:10.1007/BF00680926.
This perceptual effect: Mark Vergeer and Rob van Lier, “Capturing Lightness Between Contours,” Perception 39, no. 12 (2010): 1565–78, doi:10.1068/p6539.
contrast is an important cue: Richard Russell, “A Sex Difference in Facial Contrast and Its Exaggeration by Cosmetics,” Perception 38, no. 8 (2009): 1211–19, doi:10.1068/p6331; Richard Russell, “88: The Illusion of Sex,” in The Oxford Compendium of Visual Illusions, ed. Arthur G. Shapiro and Dejan Todorovi´c (Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 2017).
Once neurons have adapted: Stuart Anstis, “108: The Disappearing Faces Illusion,” in Oxford Compendium of Visual Illusions.
2. COLOR ILLUSIONS
an even more striking version: Yuval Barkan and Hedva Spitzer, “109: The Color Dove Illusion—Chromatic Filling In Effect Following a Spatial-Temporal Edge,” in The Oxford Compendium of Visual Illusions, ed. Arthur G. Shapiro and Dejan Todorovi´c (Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 2017).
a single multicolored image: Rob van Lier, Mark Vergeer, and Stuart Anstis, “Filling-In Afterimage Colors Between the Lines,” Current Biology 19, no. 8 (2009): R323–24, doi:10.1016/j.cub.2009.03.010.
Their illusion shows that a single image: Mark Vergeer, Stuart Anstis, and Rob van Lier, “Flexible Color Perception Depending on the Shape and Positioning of Achromatic Contours,” Frontiers in Psychology 6 (May 18, 2015), doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00620.
the vision scientist Michael White: M. White, “A New Effect of Pattern on Perceived Lightness,” Perception 8 (1979): 413–16.
Purves’s idea: D. Purves, R. B. Lotto, S. M. Williams, S. Nundy, and Z. Yang, “Why We See Things the Way We Do: Evidence for a Wholly Empirical Strategy of Vision,” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 356, no. 1407 (2001): 285–97.
3. SIZE ILLUSIONS
Recent research shows that spiders: M. W. Vasey, M. R. Vilensky, J. H. Heath, C. N. Harbaugh, A. G. Buffington, and R. H. Fazio, “It Was as Big as My Head, I Swear!: Biased Spider Size Estimation in Spider Phobia,” Journal of Anxiety Disorders 26, no. 1 (2012): 20–24; D.M.T. Fessler, C. Holbrook, and J. K. Snyder, “Weapons Make the Man (Larger): Formidability Is Represented as Size and Strength in Humans,” PloS ONE 7, no. 4 (2012): article e32751.
the size of a moving object: Ryan E. B. Mruczek, Christopher D. Blair, and Gideon P. Caplovitz, “Dynamic Illusory Size Contrast: A Relative-Size Illusion Modulated by Stimulus Motion and Eye Movements,” Journal of Vision 14, no. 3 (2014): 2, doi:10.1167/14.3.2.
Our own research showed: J. Otero-Millan, S. L. Macknik, A. Robbins, M. McCamy, and S. Martinez-Conde, “Stronger Misdirection in Curved than in Straight Motion,” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 5 (2011): 133.
Blair, Caplovitz, and Mruczek created: Ryan E. B. Mruczek, Christopher D. Blair, Lars Strother, and Gideon P. Caplovitz, “The Dynamic Ebbinghaus: Motion Dynamics Greatly Enhance the Classic Contextual Size Illusion,” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 9 (Feb. 18, 2015), doi:10.3389/fnhum.2015.00077.
The Fat Face Thin Illusion: Peter Thompson, “Margaret Thatcher: A New Illusion,” Perception 9, no. 4 (1980): 483–84, doi:10.1068/p090483; Peter Thompson and Jennie Wilson, “Why Do Most Faces Look Thinner Upside Down?” i-Perception 3, no. 10 (2012): 765–74, doi:10.1068/i0554.
The Head Size Illusion demonstrates: K. Morikawa, K. Okumura, and S. Matsushita, “Head Size Illusion: Head Outlines Are Processed Holistically Too,” Perception 41 (2012), ECVP suppl., 115; Kazunori Morikawa, Soyogu Matsushita, Akitoshi Tomita, and Haruna Yamanami, “A Real-Life Illusion of Assimilation in the Human Face: Eye Size Illusion Caused by Eyebrows and Eye Shadow,” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 9 (March 20, 2015), doi:10.3389/fnhum.2015.00139; S. Matsushita, K. Morikawa, and H. Yamanami, “Measurement of Eye Size Illusion Caused by Eyeliner, Mascara, and Eye Shadow,” Journal of Cosmetic Science 66, no. 3 (2015): 161–74.
4. SHAPE ILLUSIONS
The circle on the left: David Whitaker, Paul V. McGraw, David R. T. Keeble, and Jennifer Skillen, “Pulling the Other One: 1st- and 2nd-Order Visual Information Interact to Determine Perceived Location,” Vision Research 44, no. 3 (2004): 279–86, doi:10.1016/j.visres.2003.09.014; Paul V. McGraw, David Whitaker, Jennifer Skillen, and Susana T. L. Chung, “Motion Adaptation Distorts Perceived Visual Position,” Current Biology 12, no. 23 (Dec. 2002): 2042–47, doi:10.1016/s0960-9822(02)01354-4; Jennifer Skillen, David Whitaker, Ariella V. Popple, and Paul V. McGraw, “The Importance of Spatial Scale in Determining Illusions of Orientation,” Vision Research 42, no. 21 (Sept. 2002): 2447–55, doi:10.1016/s0042-6989(02)00261-4.
a novel variant of the Shepard Tabletop Illusion: Lydia M. Maniatis, “Alignment with the Horizontal Plane: Evidence for an Orientation Constraint in the Perception of Shape,” Perception 39, no. 9 (2010): 1175–84, doi:10.1068/p6681; Lydia Maniatis, “23: Symmetry and Uprightness in Visually-Perceived Shapes,” in The Oxford Compendium of Visual Illusions, ed. Arthur G. Shapiro and Dejan Todorovi´c (Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 2017).
discovered this illusion serendipitously: Lydia Maniatis, “24: Bath Tub Illusion,” ibid.
this illusion also works for a face: Rob van Lier and Arno Koning, “The More-or-Less Morphing Face Illusion: A Case of Fixation-Dependent Modulation,” Perception 43, no. 9 (Sept. 2014): 947–49, doi:10.1068/p7704.
Our own research has shown: Y. Chen, S. Martinez-Conde, S. L. Macknik, Y. Bereshpolova, H. A. Swadlow, and J. M. Alonso, “Task Difficulty Modulates the Activity of Specific Neuronal Populations in Primary Visual Cortex,” Nature Neuroscience 11, no. 8 (2008): 974–82.
how overall context affects: Jisien Yang and Adrian Schwaninger, “Yang’s Iris Illusion: External Contour Causes Length-Assimilation Illusions,” Japanese Psychological Research 53, no. 1 (March 2011): 15–29, doi:10.1111/j.1468-5884.2010.00455.x.
The Illusory Pyramid: P. Guardini, “The Illusory Contoured Tilting and Rotating Pyramids,” Teorie e Modelli 3 (2008): 323–34; Pietro Guardini and Luciano Gamberini, “Depth Stratification in Illusory-Contour Figures on Heterogeneous Backgrounds Is Independent of Contour Clarity and Brightness Enhancement,” Perception 37, no. 6 (2008): 877–88; P. Guardini, “The Illusory Contoured Tilting (and Rotating) Pyramid,” in Il Posto della Fenomenologia Sperimentale nelle Scienze della Percezione, Convegno-Workshop Università di Milano, Bicocca, Milano, Feb. 21–22, 2008.
The neural bases of this illusion: Stefano Guidi, Oronzo Parlangeli, Sandro Bettella, and Sergio Roncato, “Features of the Selectivity for Contrast Polarity in Contour Integration Revealed by a Novel Tilt Illusion,” Perception 40, no. 11 (2011): 1357–75, doi:10.1068/p6897; Sergio Roncato and Clara Casco, “A New ‘Tilt’ Illusion Reveals the Relation Between Border Ownership and Border Binding,” Journal of Vision 9, no. 6 (June 1, 2009): 14 (1–10), doi:10.1167/9.6.14; Sergio Roncato and Clara Casco, “Illusory Boundary Interpolation from Local Association Field,” Spatial Vision 19, no. 6 (Nov. 1, 2006): 581–603, doi:10.1163/156856806779194008.
“either because [the planets’] light is refracted”: Galileo Galilei, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, trans. Stillman Drake (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1953).
This illusion by Bettella: Sergio Roncato, “Brightness/Darkness Induction and the Genesis of a Contour,” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 8 (Oct. 20, 2014): 841, doi:10.3389/fnhum.2014.00841.
5. AMBIGUOUS ILLUSIONS
the experimental psychologist Edwin Boring: Edwin Boring, “A New Ambiguous Figure,” The American Journal of Psychology 42, no. 3 (1930): 444–45.
the vision scientist Gerald H. Fisher: Gerald H. Fisher, “Mother, Father, and Daughter: A Three-Aspect Ambiguous Figure,” The American Journal of Psychology 81, no. 2 (June 1968), pp. 274–77.
The Ghostly Gaze Illusion: Rob Jenkins, “The Lighter Side of Gaze Perception,” Perception 36, no. 8 (2007): 1266–68, doi:10.1068/p5745; Rob Jenkins, John D. Beaver, and Andrew J. Calder, “I Thought You Were Looking at Me: Direction-Specific Aftereffects in Gaze Perception,” Psychological Science 17, no. 6 (June 1, 2006): 506–13, doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01736.x; Rob Jenkins and Christie Kerr, “Identifiable Images of Bystanders Extracted from Corneal Reflections,” ed. Matthew Longo, PLOS ONE 8, no. 12 (Dec. 26, 2013): e83325, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0083325.
6. PERSPECTIVE AND DEPTH ILLUSIONS
the Leaning Tower Illusion: Frederick A. A. Kingdom, Ai Yoonessi, and Elena Gheorghiu, “The Leaning Tower Illusion: A New Illusion of Perspective,” Perception 36, no. 3 (2007): 475–77; Frederick A. A. Kingdom, Ali Yoonessi, and Elena Gheorghiu, “Leaning Tower Illusion,” Scholarpedia 2, no. 12 (2007); F.A.A. Kingdom, A. Yoonessi, and E. Gheorghiu, “Leaning Tower Illusion,” in The Oxford Compendium of Visual Illusions, ed. Arthur G. Shapiro and Dejan Todorovi´c (Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press: 2017).
two different images can look identical: Kimberley D. Orsten-Hooge, Mary C. Portillo, and James R. Pomerantz, “False Pop Out,” Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 41, no. 6 (2015): 1623–33, doi:10.1037/xhp0000077.
Skye’s illusion: Mathematics Awareness Month 2014 Poster, Penrose Tile Martin Gardner Rubin’s Vase, www.mathaware.org/mam/2014/poster/; Martin Gardner Rubin’s Vase Illusion: www.huffingtonpost.com/colm-mulcahy/martin-gardner_b_4125273.html; James Randi Rubin’s Vase Illusion: http://turnermagic.com/2011/05/foreground-background-and-perspective/.
Geiger and Ishikawa’s illusion: Davi Geiger, Hsingkuo Pao, and Nava Rubin, “Salient and Multiple Illusory Surfaces,” Proceedings of the IEEE Computer Society Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, 1998, pp. 118–24, cat. no. 98CB36231, doi:10.1109/cvpr.1998.698597; Hiroshi Ishikawa and Davi Geiger, “Illusory Volumes in Human Stereo Perception,” Vision Research 46, nos. 1–2 (2006): 171–78, doi:10.1016/j.visres.2005.06.028; Gaetano Kanizsa, Organization in Vision: Essays on Gestalt Perception (New York: Praeger, 1979).
7. MOTION ILLUSIONS
our own research has shown: Xoana G. Troncoso, Michael B. McCamy, Ali Najafian Jazi, Jie Cui, Jorge Otero-Millan, Stephen L. Macknik, Francisco M. Costela, and Susana Martinez-Conde, “V1 Neurons Respond Differently to Object Motion Versus Motion from Eye Movements,” Nature Communications 6 (2015): article 8114.
the Spinning Disks Illusion: Johannes M. Zanker, “85: Motion Illusions in Static Patterns,” in The Oxford Compendium of Visual Illusions, ed. Arthur G. Shapiro and Dejan Todorovi´c (Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 2017).
Our previous research had shown: S. Martinez-Conde, S. L. Macknik, X. G. Troncoso, and T. A. Dyer, “Microsaccades Counteract Visual Fading During Fixation,” Neuron 49, no. 2 (2006): 297–305.
The results, published in 2008: X. G. Troncoso, S. L. Macknik, J. Otero-Millan, and S. Martinez-Conde, “Microsaccades Drive Illusory Motion in the Enigma Illusion,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 105, no. 41 (2008): 16033-38.
The neuroscientist Bevil Conway: “Neural Basis for a Powerful Static Motion Illusion,” The Journal of Neuroscience 25, no. 23 (2005): 5651–6.
The Blurry Heart Illusion: Kohske Takahashi, Shun’ya Yamada, Fuminori Ono, and Katsumi Watanabe, “Loss of Color by Afterimage Masking,” i-Perception 4, no. 3 (2013): 144–46, doi:10.1068/i0584sas; Kohske Takahashi, Haruaki Fukuda, Katsumi Watanabe, and Kazuhiro Ueda, “Scintillating Lustre Induced by Radial Fins,” i-Perception 3, no. 2 (2012): 101–103, doi:10.1068/i0488sas; Kohske Takahashi, Ryosuke Niimi, and Katsumi Watanabe, “Illusory Motion Induced by Blurred Red-Blue Edges,” Perception 39, no. 12 (2010): 1678–80, doi:10.1068/p6811.
magnificent example of how we perceive: Hiroshi Ashida, Ichiro Kuriki, Ikuya Murakami, Rumi Hisakata, and Akiyoshi Kitaoka, “Direction-Specific FMRI Adaptation Reveals the Visual Cortical Network Underlying the ‘Rotating Snakes’ Illusion,” NeuroImage 61, no. 4 (2012): 1143–52, doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.03.033; Akiyoshi Kitaoka, “Color-Dependent Motion Illusions in Stationary Images and Their Phenomenal Dimorphism,” Perception 43, no. 9 (2014): 914–25, doi:10.1068/p7706; A. Kitaoka and S. Anstis, “Second-Order Footsteps Illusions,” i-Perception 6, no. 6 (Dec. 24, 2015): 1–4, doi:10.1177/2041669515622085.
in collaboration with Jorge Otero-Millan: Jorge Otero-Millan, Stephen L. Macknik, and Susana Martinez-Conde, “Microsaccades and Blinks Trigger Illusory Rotation in the ‘Rotating Snakes’ Illusion,” Journal of Neuroscience 32, no. 17 (April 25, 2012): 6043–51, doi:10.1523/jneurosci.5823-11.2012.
Alex Fraser and Kimerly J. Wilcox discovered: Alex Fraser and Kimerly J. Wilcox, “Perception of Illusory Movement,” Nature 281 (October 18, 1979): 565–66.
In a 2009 study, Jutta Billino: J. Billino, K. Hamburger, and K. R. Gegenfurtner, “Age Effects on the Perception of Motion Illusions,” Perception 38, no. 4 (2009): 508–21.
8. IMPOSSIBLE ILLUSIONS
in 1958 published his observations: L. S. Penrose and R. Penrose, “Impossible Objects: A Special Type of Visual Illusion,” British Journal of Psychology 49, no. 1 (1958): 31–33.
his magnetlike illusion: Kokichi Sugihara, “Classification of Impossible Objects,” Perception 11, no. 1 (Jan. 1982): 65–74; Kokichi Sugihara, “Design of Solids for Antigravity Motion Illusion,” Computational Geometry: Theory and Applications 47, no. 6 (2014): 675–82; Kokichi Sugihara, “Ambiguous Cylinders: A New Class of Impossible Objects,” Computer Aided Drafting, Design and Manufacturing 25, no. 3 (2015): 19–25.
our brain interprets the bright streaks: Dejan Todorovi´c, “How Shape from Contours Affects Shape from Shading,” Vision Research 103 (Oct. 2014): 1–10, doi:10.1016/j.visres.2014.07.014; Phillip J. Marlow, Dejan Todorovi´c, and Barton L. Anderson, “Coupled Computations of Three-Dimensional Shape and Material,” Current Biology 25, no. 6 (March 2015): R221–22, doi:10.1016/j.cub.2015.01.062.
9. MULTISENSORY AND NONVISUAL ILLUSIONS
The mirage box: Roger Newport and Helen R. Gilpin, “Multisensory Disintegration and the Disappearing Hand Trick,” Current Biology 21, no. 19 (Oct. 2011): R804–805, doi:10.1016/j.cub.2011.08.044; Valeria Bellan, Helen R. Gilpin, Tasha R. Stanton, Roger Newport, Alberto Gallace, and G. Lorimer Moseley, “Untangling Visual and Proprioceptive Contributions to Hand Localisation over Time,” Experimental Brain Research 233, no. 6 (June 2015): 1689–1701, doi:10.1007/s00221-015-4242-8.
This tactile illusion: M. Nakatani, R. D. Howe, and S. Tachi, “The Fishbone Tactile Illusion,” in Proceedings of EuroHaptics, 2006, pp. 69–73; M. Nakatani, R. D. Howe, and S. Tachi, “Surface Texture Can Bias Tactile Form Perception,” Experimental Brain Research 208, no. 1 (2011): 151–56, doi:10.1007/s00221-010-2464-3, PMID: 20981539.
10. ATTENTION ILLUSIONS
we discovered some of the initial circuits: Y. Chen, S. Martinez-Conde, S. L. Macknik, Y. Bereshpolova, H. A. Swadlow, and J. M. Alonso, “Task Difficulty Modulates the Activity of Specific Neuronal Populations in Primary Visual Cortex,” Nature Neuroscience 11, no. 8 (2008): 974–82.
create a variation: Daniel J. Simons, “Monkeying Around with the Gorillas in Our Midst: Familiarity with an Inattentional-Blindness Task Does Not Improve the Detection of Unexpected Events,” i-Perception 1, no. 1 (2010): 3–6, doi:10.1068/i0386.
three semitransparent overlapping circles: P. U. Tse, “Voluntary Attention Modulates the Brightness of Overlapping Transparent Surfaces,” Vision Research 45, no. 9 (2005): 1095–98, doi:10.1016/j.visres.2004.11.001.
Tse showed that attention: Eric A. Reavis, Peter J. Kohler, Gideon P. Caplovitz, Thalia P. Wheatley, and Peter U. Tse, “Effects of Attention on Visual Experience During Monocular Rivalry,” Vision Research 83 (2013): 76–81, doi:10.1016/j.visres.2013.03.002.