Simply stated, an optical illusion is something that fools an individual’s mind and eyes into perceiving reality falsely. Optical illusions can be found everywhere in photographs, drawings, unusual solid objects, holograms, as well as natural phenomena such as mirage. I have had an experience with a number of optical illusions which include mirages, holograms and a drawing known as the Hermann Grid Illusion.
When taking a walk along the road on a very hot sunny day, one will tend to see a puddle of water at a distance. However, this is not water to quench thirst but rather an optical illusion known as mirage. In the Herman Grid Illusion, the colour, position, shape and the 3D contrast makes it seem as there are black dots at the intersections while in the real sense the dots are white.
The hologram is also another common optical illusion. It is common in wall hangings, table mats and could also be spotted on the backs on Nokia mobile phone batteries. While this film is two dimensional, it creates a three dimensional illusion that makes the viewer think that it has a third dimension which is the depth. Another common illusion is a portrait whereby the painting or figure in the portrait seems to look at the observer wherever he stands.
This speaks volumes about an individual’s perception of the world. Based on the 4 optical illusions experienced, it can be evidenced that sometimes our perceptions differ from reality. This is to say that we cannot rightly say that our senses are always right about the physical world. For example, a look at the moon can lead someone to think that it is bigger than the sun. However, in reality, the converse is true. Therefore, optical illusions say a lot regarding our perceptual system.
References
Five Laws of Perception. Retrieved on 18 Mar. 2014 from http://gestaltpsychology.weebly.com/five-laws-of-perception.html
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