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Site update

Since I have been really terrible at updating the blog (but pretty good at keeping up with the facebook blog posts) I've added the widget below so that facebook cross posts to the blog.

You shouldn't need to join facebook but can just click on the links in the widget to access the articles. If you have any problems or comments please mail me at arandjel 'AT' eva.mpg.de.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Optical Illusions powered by our evolution in a 3D world

i LOVE optical illusions - check out this gallery with explanations as to why our brain perceives as it does. Below - these two tables have the same dimensions, really! - MA



From Discover magazine via Neatorama

Neuroscientists usually explain color illusions in mechanistic terms: They arise because of the way cells in the retina and the brain respond to certain wavelengths of light. Those explanations miss the larger point, says Beau Lotto, a brain research at University College London. We misperceive colors and shapes because our visual sense has been molded by evolutionary history.

Go to the Discover magazine slideshow for more info on how are brain is tricked by optical illusions!