The Ponzo Illusion and Perception
Have you ever wondered how optical illusions work? Well, how we perceive things is the main explanation. Perception can be defined as the recognition, organization, and interpretation of information from our sensory experiences. And it has been the focus since the start of class. Illusions help to show that we do not always perceive things the real way they are. In this blog, I will discuss the Ponzo Illusion, how it works, and how it relates to perception.
The Ponzo Illusion is a famous optical illusion that was discovered by Mario Ponzo, an Italian psychologist. Ponzo first demonstrated the Ponzo Illusion in 1913. This Illusion is a prime example of showing why and how the experience of the illusion still exists even though we know we are experiencing an illusion (Donaldson & Macpherson, 2017). The effect of this illusion is that the top yellow line appears longer than the bottom yellow line, but they are the same size. I provided a picture at the end of the text for reference.
There are many different explanations to how the Ponzo Illusion works. One reason is because of linear perspective. The upper line looks longer because we perceive the lines as parallel lines receding into the distance rather than converging lines. So, we interpret the upper line as it was farther away, so we see it as longer (2019). The framing effect also explains this illusion. The framing effect is when objects that fill an enclosing border appear larger than the same object that is surrounded by a larger frame.
The Ponzo Illusion relates to perception in many ways, but I want to discuss one thing specifically, the Gestalt Laws of Perception. There are six Laws of Perception: Proximity, Similarity, Good Continuation, Connectedness, Common Fate, and Pragnanz. The Ponzo Illusion would fall under the Pragnanz Law. The Pragnanz Law states that we tend to see the pattern in the simplest way. It is easier to assume that the top line is longer than the bottom line because that is how it appears.
So, as you can see, optical illusions only exist due to our perception. Perception is our interpretation of information from our sensory experiences. If what we perceive was exactly how it was, then optical illusion would now exist. So, if you have ever wondered how optical illusions work, this is how!
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Work Cited
Donaldson, J. and Macpherson, F. (July 2017), “Ponzo Illusion” in F. Macpherson (ed.), The Illusions Index. Retrieved from https://www.illusionsindex.org/i/ponzo-illusion.
Ponzo illusion. (2019, March 31). New World Encyclopedia, . Retrieved 21:38, September 12, 2021 from https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Ponzo_illusion&oldid=1019365.
I always thought these kinds of illusions are so interesting, and learning how our perception of surroundings can appear altered or different. This reminded me of the Müller-Lyer illusion that we did for out first CogLab. Similar to the Ponzo Illusion which also deals with how we perceive lines at a distance, the Müller-Lyer dealt with lines of the same length appearing to be different. These illusions can be seen all throughout life and as you stated well in your blog post, it only exists because of our perception. It’s fascinating how easily we are able to be tricked as well, and the phenomenon you explained where out mind searches for the easiest explanation. In seen with the gif you posted as well, when the lines on the side appear it shows you how both lines are the same length but when those side lines disappear the mind goes right back to thinking they’re different sizes. Truly very interesting!