Optical illusions that fool the brain

What we see is when we look at something is not “sense data”.  It is not the pattern of photons of different wave lengths falling on the rods and cones of our eyes.  Something in our brains that is the equivalent of image processing software translates this raw data into an image that has meaning.

As my friend Bill Hickok said, that is why we can look at cartoons and see an image rather than just lines on a surface.  And that is why it is possible to fool the brain with optical illusions like the one above.

Hat tip to kottke.org.

Tags: Anamorphic Optical Illusion, Optical illusions