Optical Illusions
Read each slide for directions
Stare at the image for 20 seconds then look at a white wall
Stare at the four black dots in the center of the image for 30 - 60 seconds.
Then quickly close your eyes and look at something bright. You should see
a white circle with an image inside it.
Even though the letters are jumbled in the following paragraph,
most people have no trouble reading it!
Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it
deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod
are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat
ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl
mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm.
Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed
ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
This is a fun
optical illusion
picture to look at
because it
constantly plays
with your mind.
If you notice,
you'll see that
the person on
the left is trying
to fix the wall
which has
crumbled with
time. They also
seem to be
painting the
columns on the
right.
M.C. Escher
drawing
“Relativity.”
M.C.
Escher
“Drawing
Hands.”
The horizontal red stripes look bowed in the middle. This optical illusion brain
teaser demonstrates that the black lines drawn in one-point perspective distort
the red lines. You can also see that in this optical illusion, the thinner red line
seems to be even more bowed than the thicker red line.
Which line is actually a
line? Look at the optical
illusion image above. First,
imagine that C connects
with point A. It seems like it
could work. Then see if C
connects with B.... it
appears that that is a
possibility too. To see the
real answer, you'll just
have to hold a straight
edge up to the screen.
Does the line
on the left
appear to be
shorter than
the one on the
right?
Here is an artists drawing of the
young woman/old woman
optical illusion. The old
woman's eye is the young
woman's ear. The old woman's
wart is the young woman's
nose, and the old woman’s
nose is the young woman's
chin. Easy enough right? This
optical illusion goes down in the
history books for being one of
the most recognized optical
illusions, and should be
included in any reports about
the history of optical illusions!
Another version of
the “Young
Woman/Old
Woman Illusion…
Try to count the black dots
The lines
look
crooked,
but they
are all
straight.
Doubt it?
Check with
a piece of
paper.
Another
version…Are
the lines straight
or curved?
As your eyes
relax and move
around the
different places
on this magical
spiral, you'll see
that it twists and
turns in front of
you. In addition,
it appears to
flash very
quickly.
This optical illusion is called “Spinning Watermelons.” Can you see why?
This image is called “Spinning Snakes.”
“Footballs”
This one
is called
“Purple
Nurple.”