Al Seckel explains how Optical Illusions trick our brains

Have you ever wondered how Optical illusions work? How is it that our brain can be fooled by something we know can not be possible? Well if you really want to find out how all these smoke and mirrors work..then you are in for a treat.  Al Seckle is a cognitive neuroscientist, who helps us explore the perceptual illusions that fool our brains. Loads of eye tricks help him prove that not only are we easily fooled, we kind of like it.

Al shows a bunch of popular optical illusion as well as his own. He shows how some of them are done and demonstrates how you are still tricked even after knowing how its done. Some very neat spinnoffs of some classic optical illusion.

Mirror Tic-Tac-Toe illusion

Everyone knows the how to play good old tic-tac-toe.  So what better than a Tic Tac Toe optical illusion game?  A few companies have come out with some optical illusion or rather reflective version of Tic Tac Toe. All of the play pieces are actually half pieces and use the mirror game board to complete the rest of the play piece.  This simple reflection illusion puts a new spin on a classic game.  The first one shown below is made by Peleg Design and retails for around $45-50.   I also found a much more affordable version on amazon for only 12$

 

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As much as i love the look of the version above $50 seemed a little steep to for me so i found a much cheaper version on amazon! Spiff up your office with this cool version of a classic game. Do you know of another illusion type of game? If so let us know in the comments!

Puddle Images – Bomber Plane

 

Hidden images can appear almost anywhere, some say you see what you want to see and you can find a picture in anything.. and some seem to think pictures or symbols appear for a reason.

Sonya writes in “Hi I thought I would send you this photo I took yesterday of two almost dried up puddles that I spotted while I was out walking down a path in Peterborough, UK. I felt that I had to photograph them
as to me they instantly made me think they depicted a plane dropping a bomb. I know it’s not a funny picture or an inspiring one but these almost dried out puddles made me stop and think about what is going on in the world today.”puddle-plane-bomber

Giant underwater sculpture

Under water sculptures are not something you see every day. I got certified for scuba diving a few years back and tend to get excited when i find anything different underwater.. Just imagine swimming up to this 18′ tall rock giant lurking under sea. This masterpiece  was created by the artist Jason deCaires Taulor.  Jason has numerous works of under masterpieces such as the underwater sculpture park. Jasons latest sculpture is located off the coast of Nassau in the bahamas.

In effort to keep to add beauty with out affecting the environment the statue is made from a PH-neutral cement.  This marine safe compound allows for corals and other reef inhabitants to thrive and create a natural reef around the underwater art.  If you are ever in Nassau be sure to put on those flippers and snorkel or dive out to see this underwater work of art.

 

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Giants Eating Human Optical Illusion

Do giants still roam the earth? When you were young i’m sure you have seen jack in the bean stock and remember the giants who threatened to eat jack and his friends? In theses perspective illusions the giants have returned. The first giant is about to eat that cute girl.. (possibly his girlfriend..   and the second the marine is about to eat some fellow troopers as they repel into his mouth.  Its amazing how much fun you can have with photos when you find just the right perspective. So i ask.. who have you eaten? Do you have any amazing shots of crazy perspectives and twisted illusions? If so be sure to submit them to be featured on the site!

 

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Living Painting Illusion

 

Recently i have been trying to learn to airbrush and have become intreated with how realistic a painting can be. Have you ever seen a painting so life like you though it was real? The young girl in this photo painted an image so real it appears to come to life and touch her. Is this a fairly tail love story.. or just a little trickery?  That is for you to decide! Just for another spin on the 3d/coming to life check out this 3d paper art that seems to jump off the page at you.

 

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Watermelon carvings

I have seen some pretty amazing ice sculptures and carvings but never in watermelon.. while that is until today. I know this isn’t directly an illusion but its pretty amazing to see what kinda of faces and creations people can make out of watermelon! Who knew it wasn’t just for eating? and the best part is.. if you mess up or don’t like your carving you can just eat it..  just try not to eat it before you finish. Check out these amazing carvings below. the detail is impressive.. at least for watermelon!

 

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3D Tree Stereoscopic Illusion

Stereoscopic optical illusions are created by using two images of the same object giving you an illusion of depth. Each image is taken at a slightly different angle. When the two images are combined either side by side or flipped back and forth you get a 3D perspective of a static object.  The same effect is also used with the red/blue 3d glasses where the red and blue image is slightly offsetted to give the same impression.  Each eye views a different angle and your brain merges the two to give the image depth. While hiking the other day i came a cross this old moss covered tree and decided to try making one of these illusions for my self. Below you will see both flavors of the Illusion. First click on the image below to open up the full size image, stare into the center of the image and go cross eyed, the two photos will merge into a 3D photo in the center showing the true illusion.  Alternatively if you want the lazy version… scroll down to see the animated GIF. 🙂


Click this image then stare into the middle and go cross eyed to see the 3d version in the center.

Headless Camel

Every once in a while you snap that perfect photograph. Below is an amazing shot of a headless camel sent in by Jose Luis.
Jose, a photographer shot this photo in Sanaa, Yemen. Being a photographer myself I can really appreciate the bizarre perspective illusion. If you like these perfect candid moments be sure to check out some of the many headless optical illusion. If Camels are your thing, check out this amazing national geographic camel shot.

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