A mind-blowing optical illusion of a bathtub forces the brain to change its size depending on the angle from which you look at it.
The illusion called ‘Stretching in the Bathtub’ by Lydia Maniatis of American University is based on a billboard showing a bathtub viewed from an angle.
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Seen from the front, when it appears regular size Credit: Lydia Maniatis/Illusion of the Year Competition
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Seen from the right, when it appears to be reduced Credit: Lydia Maniatis/Illusion of the Year Competition
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And seen from the left, when it appears to be stretched Credit: Lydia Maniatis/Illusion of the Year Competition
But the image seems to stretch or shrink, depending on which direction you’re looking from.
Looking at the image from the front, when it looks like a normal size.
But when viewed from the right side, it appears to be reduced, and from the left side, it appears to be stretched.
The Maniatis team participated in the contest for the best illusion of the year in 2010 and was among the top ten finalists.
You might be wondering what the science behind this mental booster is.
It is based on how the brain processes images of 3D objects when they are presented in 2D.
Illusion of the Year explains: “Each change of location results in a different retinal image. When processed in the usual way, each of these images results in different 3D perceptions.”
By comparison, when you walk past a real bathtub, the brain is able to process a constant shape because it has three dimensions.
Although the misleading image did not place first in the competition, it placed fourth, receiving 322 votes.
The winning entry, ‘Impossible Movement: Earrings Like Magnets’ by Kokichi Sugihara received 1,876 votes.
The Illusion of the Year competition is an annual celebration of the ingenuity and creativity of the world’s leading illusion research community, according to its website.
Entries come from all over the world and are evaluated by an international jury before narrowing them down to a top ten list.
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Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education