Perception researchers have discovered many illusions where context affects perceived size and distance. A great example of this is the Ponzo illusion (reviewed in an earlier blog post). The Ponzo ...

A new study examined the mechanisms of the Flashed Face Distortion Effect, finding that the effect is greatly diminished when ...

Lightness perception, the visual system’s ability to maintain a stable representation of surface reflectance despite varying illumination, has long intrigued researchers. Central to this field is the ...

Maybe we watched too many horror movies as kids, or maybe it's just an evolutionary advantage to be wary of danger when it isn't necessarily there, but we can all remember that sudden feeling of ...

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Our eyes can frequently play tricks on us, but scientists have discovered that some artificial intelligence can fall for the same illusions.

Research shows that a certain kind of visual illusion, neon color spreading, works on mice. The study is also the first to combine the use of two investigative techniques called electrophysiology and ...

An example of the glare illusion used in the experiment. A previous study has reported that the central region surrounded by eight circles is perceived to be brighter in the left image (with a ...

The famous Ebbinghaus illusion, named for its discoverer, the German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850–1909). Despite appearances, the two orange circles are the same size. Have you ever looked at ...

Optical illusions are older than you think. The first optical illusions date back to 20,000 BC and took the form of cave sculptings. Nowadays they are found all over the place – on screens, in books ...