In this chapter, we learned how the visual nerve and brain complement each other to help us feel the world. I think the most interesting thing is the content of visual illusion. Our retinal imaging, as a two-dimensional picture, is processed into a three-dimensional picture through our nervous system. Generally speaking, it is a function similar to imagination, Although this ability can help us feel the world better, it also has the disadvantage of visual deception. Sometimes we will make up the situation inconsistent with the reality through the demand of some missing information automatically supplemented by the brain. This brain’s thinking inertia will bring us a lot of illusions. In fact, this situation is not uncommon in our life. For example, a game of Monument Valley is a puzzle solving mobile game developed by ustwo games, which realizes the path seen by people from the 2D plane in the 3D game scene through a large number of Drost effect, Penrose triangle and perspective effect, The effect people see is actually just a projection of a 3D game scene. Or the street art of the popular 3D paintings is the same. Many paintings in three-dimensional space are presented on the two-dimensional Street ground. Through the reverse application of a certain angle of view and perspective, visitors have an immersive sense of authenticity. So many times we can’t trust our eyes too much, and seeing is not necessarily true. It may be our brain’s own thinking. Although this may sometimes bring us some embarrassment, it also brings us unlimited reverie space.
Reference：
Ustwo. (n.d.). Monument Valley 2: An iOS game from USTWO games. Monument Valley 2: an iOS game from ustwo games. Retrieved September 12, 2021, from https://www.monumentvalleygame.com/mv2.
Kelle, P., Young, N., Rean, Poh, M., & Jeffrey, K. (2020, May 21). 50 absolutely stunning 3D street art / Paintings, Vol. 3. Hongkiat. Retrieved September 12, 2021, from https://www.hongkiat.com/blog/absolutely-stunning-3d-street-art-paintings/.
Your post caught my eye. An appropriate pun for what we are discussing – visual deception. As you referred to, visual deception can compromise safety and survival in some cases, but it is my impression that in modern society it serves as more of an entertainment vehicle, many of its effects quite beautiful. I have seen the Drost effect you mentioned portrayed in many pieces of artwork, as well as Penrose and Perspective used in architectural and interior design. 3D presentations, as you cited, have been exhibited in online video games and even toys for children. One unforgettable optical illusion plaything I would enjoy as child was the Kaleidoscope, which uses colorful pieces of textile scraps such as plastic and metal rotated different ways inside separate funnel compartments to create endless visual designs when peered at in the overall funnel (HDColors, 2014).
All of these illusions underline the Gestalt principles of perception (Goldstein, 2015, p. 64-66), which follow immutable organized rules such as Continuation (connected lines seen as belonging together), Pragnanz (structures appearing as simple as possible), and Similarity (grouped objects viewed as one unit) when interpreted by our visual system. Gestalt is based on Bottom-Up processing (Goldstein, 2015, p. 59), consistent with didactic experiences our senses process without much intellectual thought. One outstanding Gestalt illusion is the one of apparent movement (Goldstein, 2015, p. 64), where separate lights flashing are seen as ongoing fluid light motion, often seen on signage and advertisements. Another similar optical illusion that has always fascinated me is the “rubber pencil,” based on the same idea of apparent movement. Separate actual frames of a pencil, which is hard and straight, being moved up and down quickly is reflected to our visual system as one flexible motion, giving the pencil a rubbery appearance (Howcast, 2013).
Whether it is 3D, special effects or any one of the Gestalt illusions sampled above, these and other deceptive observations provide endless design and entertainment ideas for artwork, advertising, building design, film and theatre.
References:
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Goldstein, E. B. (2015). Cognitive psychology: Connecting mind, research, and everyday experience (4th ; student ed.). Cengage Learning.
HDCOLORS. (2014, September 22). Splendor of color kaleidoscope video v1.3 (hypnotic visuals to relaxing ambient meditation music) [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxxqdrrpgZc
Howcast. (2013, June 21). How to do the rubber pencil trick/magic tricks [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWbaOWXG7vk