Optical illusions are arguably the most immediate and striking visual applications of science that exist. After all, few apart from the scientifically minded will react with anything but apathy when shown for example a sine curve, but present anyone with an optical illusion and you are almost guaranteed of leaving a lasting impression.
This is because optical illusions shock us – they are an emphatic reminder that the sense of sight on which we depend so much is far from infallible. Other demonstrations of the imperfections of our vision can do this too, most notably exercises that reveal our “blind spot”, but it could be said that optical illusions have an even greater impact, as they do not show us what we are missing; they show us how we see things that were never even there.
It is this sensational aspect of optical illusions that has carved them a small niche in popular culture: in fact, children are possibly more used to seeing optical illusions on the back of a cereal packet than in a classroom, while teenagers and adults are far more likely to have seen them in the work of MC Escher rather than in the pages of any textbook or academic paper. This means that although the vast majority of people have a knowledge of some of the more popular optical illusions, very few people actually understand how they work.
Therefore, we thought that our third-year project was the perfect opportunity to shed some light on an immensely interesting yet quite mysterious branch of science, with the ultimate goal of being able to explain at least some illusions using the scientific and mathematical skills that we have been taught in gymnasium.
Friday, 19 October 2007
Friday, 12 October 2007
Finding sources for the project
As a part of obtaining information about our study area, we went to Stockholms Stadsbibliotek to find books about the biological aswell as the physical properties of perception and the eye in relation to optical illusions.
The book we finally took with us is called:
VISUAL PERCEPTION
Physiology, Psochology, and Ecology
3RD EDITION
By: Vicki Bruce, Patric R. Green and Mark A. Georgeson
This book is not specificly about optical illusion, which might seem to have been the optimal, but describes the general theory behind ordinary visual perception. A deeper understanding in this area will, except from being part in our final product, help us understand why optical illusions work.
The book we finally took with us is called:
VISUAL PERCEPTION
Physiology, Psochology, and Ecology
3RD EDITION
By: Vicki Bruce, Patric R. Green and Mark A. Georgeson
This book is not specificly about optical illusion, which might seem to have been the optimal, but describes the general theory behind ordinary visual perception. A deeper understanding in this area will, except from being part in our final product, help us understand why optical illusions work.
Friday, 28 September 2007
Project Plan
Our aim is to investigate optical illusions; how they work and why they work.
We have divided the project into 8 different parts:
1. Introduction: A general investigation of optical illusions.
2. Motion and time
3. Luminance and contrast
4. Colour
5. Geometric and angle
6. Space, 3D and Size constancy
7. Cognitive-/ Gestalt effects
8. Further investigation: Making our own optical illusion
We will approach each type of illusion from both biological and physical perspectives. The information will be collected from both scientific literature and also online sources, some of which are listed on the right. The illusions with most potential of yielding interesting results will then be tested experimentally, for example, to answer the question: what effects how strongly we perceive this illusion? Our experimental techniques will include educated guesswork, trial and error and also some experiments conducted through computer programs, which should give us suitable material for statistical analysis.
The final product will have three parts:
1. A seminar: Explaning optical illusion through demonstration and interactions with an audience.
2. A brochure: Easy to read with examples, so that everyone can take part in our results.
3. A scientific report: Describing our project in detail for those interested, more in depth.
We have divided the project into 8 different parts:
1. Introduction: A general investigation of optical illusions.
2. Motion and time
3. Luminance and contrast
4. Colour
5. Geometric and angle
6. Space, 3D and Size constancy
7. Cognitive-/ Gestalt effects
8. Further investigation: Making our own optical illusion
We will approach each type of illusion from both biological and physical perspectives. The information will be collected from both scientific literature and also online sources, some of which are listed on the right. The illusions with most potential of yielding interesting results will then be tested experimentally, for example, to answer the question: what effects how strongly we perceive this illusion? Our experimental techniques will include educated guesswork, trial and error and also some experiments conducted through computer programs, which should give us suitable material for statistical analysis.
The final product will have three parts:
1. A seminar: Explaning optical illusion through demonstration and interactions with an audience.
2. A brochure: Easy to read with examples, so that everyone can take part in our results.
3. A scientific report: Describing our project in detail for those interested, more in depth.
Thursday, 20 September 2007
Started Researching Online
This week we have begun to search for online sources of information. So far we have found two websites, the first is run by Professor Michael Bach of Freiburg University in Germany. It includes a wide variety of illusions, demonstrations (using applets) and also explanations of their effect. The other site is Journal of Vision, which is a collection of advanced scientific articles that explain various phenomena at a extremely high level. The first site forms the basis for our investigation.
Friday, 14 September 2007
Setting up the Log
Today, this blog was created and configured to act as an online log-book for our project. The set-up involved choosing a name and URL for the blog, and then picking a layout for it. Various other options were then selected, such as changing the blog's archiving to a weekly basis, and also creating a new Blogger account for Theo, so he could also contribute to the actual content.
As well as doing this, we discussed our project's main idea with Ms Galley and Mr Ericson, who both recommended some books for us to look into. The first book, A-Level Biology, should help us with understanding what effects certain illusions have on the eye; while the second book, Conceptual Physics, should give us some background to the illusions that work because of physics rather than physiology.
Our plan of action now is to read up in both books, and also carry on researching on the internet, with the aim of being able to come up with a proper project plan sometime next week.
As well as doing this, we discussed our project's main idea with Ms Galley and Mr Ericson, who both recommended some books for us to look into. The first book, A-Level Biology, should help us with understanding what effects certain illusions have on the eye; while the second book, Conceptual Physics, should give us some background to the illusions that work because of physics rather than physiology.
Our plan of action now is to read up in both books, and also carry on researching on the internet, with the aim of being able to come up with a proper project plan sometime next week.
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