researching visual perception from the outside and the inside

Optical illusions


Optical illusions give you the chance to observe the transformation of digital data [pixels on the screen] into subjective experience [images].  Use the graphics to explore your experience of the external world from the perspective of a researcher of visual perception as well as from the first-person perspective of the subject of the research.  The first graphic, for example, can be interpreted as a pretty girl or as birds tending a nest.  Your task is to study what happens at the moment your interpretation changes from one to the other.   As the subject, note that you can shift your interpretation intentionally or let it happen on its own.  As the researcher, note that the array of pixels does not have an intrinsic meaning; the subject creates meaning by interpreting the pixels first one way and then another.  Each graphic below provides an opportunity to explore visual phenomena from both the outside [researcher’s perspective] and the inside [subject’s perspective].

 – Select a graphic for more  – 

Ambiguous Figure
ambiguous figure
Neker cube
Necker Cube
ambiguous figure
how fast can you flip?
ambiguous figure
9 Embedded Figures
Figure Ground
Who’s bigger?
Identical Figures
our logo
Impossible Figure