for questions about claims based on optical illusions, a phenomena where a visual perception differs from reality.
Questions tagged [optical-illusions]
10 questions
64
votes
3 answers
Is this popular optical illusion made of a grey-scale image with coloured lines?
A tweet from Lionel Page (@page_eco) showing an optical illusion recently went viral, with the image appearing in many aggregation web-sites:
This is a black and white photograph. Only the lines have colour.
What you “see” is what your predicts…
Oddthinking
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31
votes
4 answers
What is the commonly accepted mechanism that causes people to experience pareidolia?
I often see cases of pareidolia reported in the news, on blogs, and even here. I think remember reading in Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan that this had an evolutionary origin (i.e. if you see a familiar object and it isn't there, that doesn't…
Larian LeQuella
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25
votes
1 answer
Do vertical stripes make you look thinner?
It is perceived wisdom that vertical stripes on clothing make a person look thinner and horizontal stripes make them look fatter.
Has any research been done into these optical illusions that support either of the claims?
Richard Stelling
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20
votes
1 answer
Is there any scientific evidence that this illusion illustrates which side of our brain we use?
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/weird/the-right-brain-vs-left-brain/story-e6frev20-1111114577583
the newspaper article makes the claim that if you look at the image and the dancer is spinning anti-clockwise, you use your left side of your…
Samuelson
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20
votes
2 answers
Is the "Face on Mars" an artificial structure?
Is the famous image of a face on Mars a trick of the light or an artificial structure reprinting a face?
Richard Stelling
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17
votes
1 answer
Is this dress blue and black in colour?
Buzzfeed, and other social media, are buzzing about this image:
When I see this image, I can only see a gold and white dress. However, others claim that the dress is actually black and blue in colour. Going by the Buzzfeed survey (as unreliable as…
JP Janet
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7
votes
1 answer
Is Sandro Del-Prete's "Message d'Amour des Dauphins" a pervert test?
You may have seen this image on the web or in an email with the following description:
Scientific research showed that children can’t recognise erotic scenes. Instead they see 9 dolphins. On the other hand, adult’s mind is rather “corrupted” so…
Soup
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7
votes
1 answer
Was a mirage involved in the Titanic's sinking?
I watched a documentary, Titanic's Final Mystery. It premise is summarised by this Smithsonian Magazine article.
An unusual optical phenomenon explains why the Titanic struck an iceberg and received no assistance from a nearby ship, according to…
bleh
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6
votes
1 answer
Is this an authentic image of a UFO sighting in Canary Islands (1976)?
According to Wikipedia, a strange 40 minute unidentified flying object or an unexplainable phenomena occured on June 22, 1976 in the Canary islands. The phenomena (object) was observed in multiple locations including Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera,…
Maria Kuznetsov
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2
votes
0 answers
Are the lips of this illumination of St. Mary moving?
The Mirror reports that a video of footage of an illumination of St. Mary, at St Charbel's Church in Sydney, Australia, appears to have her her lips moving to a prayer:
I'm skeptic... but I don't doubt that people perceive the painting's lips…
Apeforce
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