Why do Optical Illusions Occur

Why does the enormous hollow of the sky appear to be a flat blue surface? Why do big mirrors in small rooms make the rooms appear big? Why do certain flat surfaces seem to have depth? Why do eyes mistake shadows for real objects? These seemingly dissimilar questions surprisingly have the same answer; and it is optical illusions! It is due to optical illusions that we often perceive things as different from what they really are.

Why do Optical Illusions Occur

Our eyes implement a brilliant optical mechanism. Our eyes consist of two types of nerve cells, cones and rods. Cones detect color, while rods detect light. Cone cells are less in number on the edges of the retina. Hence, an object seen from the corner of an eye appears different than what it actually is. Due to the internal details of the construction of the human eye, vertical distances are perceived as being greater than horizontal distances of equal magnitude. An excessive exposure to a certain pattern of colors or shapes stimulates certain areas of the brain. An excessive exposure to a color of certain brightness may tire the eyes. In such situations, eyes perceive objects differently.

Distortions and curvatures in shapes highly influence the interpretation of shapes and sizes by the brain. Using certain shades of colors together makes the colored objects seem to have depth. Different colors absorb different amounts of light. The shades and textures of colors affect the amount of light that is reflected from colored surfaces. These phenomena are also responsible for causing optical illusions. Know more about the causes of optical illusions.

The field of wizardry and magic interests most of us. Magic tricks are closely associated with optical illusions. To know more on this, you might like to read through magic and optical illusions.