Optical Illusions

What are Optical Illusions?

Optical illusions are images that are misleading or deceptive to our brains through the use of colour, light and patterns. The information gathered by the eye is processed by the brain, creating a perception that in reality, does not match the true image.

Perception refers to the interpretation of what we take in through our eyes. Optical illusions occur because our brain is trying to interpret what we see and make sense of the world around us. Simply put, optical illusions trick our brains into seeing things which may or may not be real.

Try some for yourself! We have scrolled through loads of optical illusions to bring you some of the most fun and interesting ones we could find. Some you may have seen before, there are some classic optical illusions that have been around for many years.

Moire-2

No, the wheels are not turning. The Moiré effect can produce interesting and beautiful geometric patterns

hermanngridillusion-2

There are no black dots. If you focus directly on each dot, you’ll see that all of them are white – there are in fact no black dots!

Muller-Lyer Illusion Take a very close look at the 2 vertical lines. Do you think one line is longer than the other? They are the same size believe it or not!

Muller-Lyer Illusion Take a very close look at the 2 vertical lines. Do you think one line is longer than the other? They are the same size believe it or not!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Resources:

www.optics4kids.org