Optical illusion makes you see an 'expanding black hole'

A brand new optical illusion tricks the majority of people into thinking that a dark "black hole" region at the center of a stationary image is rapidly expanding, as if the observer were moving toward it. Researchers now suspect that the image literally tricks the brain into thinking that the observer is moving into a darkened space, like a cave or tunnel.

The illusion consists of a large black ellipse surrounded by a dark halo on a white background filled with smaller black ellipses. Typically, as a person stares at the image, the dark elliptical region will appear to expand outward for a couple of seconds, which is why the design has been nicknamed the "expanding hole."

In a new study, researchers found that 86% of the 50 participants who looked at the optical illusion reported seeing the expanding darkness. The team suspects that the illusion plays on the brain's perception of changing light levels.

"The expanding hole is a highly dynamic illusion," lead researcher Bruno Laeng, a psychologist at the University of Oslo in Norway, said in a statement. The illusion tricks the mind into seeing a change in brightness that isn't really there, "as if the observer were heading forward into a hole or tunnel," Laeng added.

The illusion hijacks a natural reaction in the brain that predicts when light is about to change, the researchers said. The dark region at the center of the image mimics the entrance to a cave or tunnel, and the surrounding pattern gives the observer the impression that they are moving toward that cave or tunnel. When the brain registers a potential change in light intensity, such as walking into a cave, it can trigger the pupils to contract or dilate to prepare you for the upcoming disruption in advance.

The illusion is so good at tricking the brain that it also causes people's pupils to dilate as if they were actually moving into a darker space. The researchers used special cameras to track observers' eye movements as they looked at the illusion, and the scientists found that their subjects' pupils were expanding just like the dark region of the illusion appeared to expand in their minds. Those who saw a bigger dark hole showed more dilation than those who saw a less-stark "black hole," the researchers said.

"The illusion of the expanding hole prompts a corresponding dilation of the pupil, as it would happen if darkness really increased," Laeng said. This shows that "the pupil reacts to how we perceive light, even if this light is imaginary."...<<<Read More>>>...

Disappearing Dots

[MO Illusions]: If your eyes follow the movement of the rotating pink dot, you will only see one color- pink. If you stare at the black + in the center, the moving dot turns to green.

Now, concentrate on the black + in the center of the picture.

After a short period of time, all the pink dots will slowly disappear, and you will only see a green dot rotating if you’re lucky!

It’s amazing how our brain works. There really is no green dot, and the pink ones really don’t disappear. This should be proof enough, we don’t always see what we think we see.

Trippy Moving Illusion That’ll Blow Your Mind!

Mo Illusions: If the bright undulating colors don’t get you, the impossible object in the middle will surely have you taking a second look.

This trippy moving illusion has cleverly combined a classic optical illusion with some pretty groovy color effects!

Don’t look at it too long, though. It might give you a bit of a headache or make your eyes go all wonky!

Disappearing Dots

Mo Illusions: If your eyes follow the movement of the rotating pink dot, you will only see one color- pink. If you stare at the black + in the center, the moving dot turns to green. Now, concentrate on the black + in the center of the picture. After a short period of time, all the pink dots will slowly disappear, and you will only see a green dot rotating if you’re lucky! It’s amazing how our brain works. There really is no green dot, and the pink ones really don’t disappear. This should be proof enough, we don’t always see what we think we see...read more>>>...

Miracle or Mothman? Security camera captures image of winged creature in Michigan

S.O.T.T: "There's no altering, no editing on the photo," Moes said. "It's the real thing."

We took the photos to Glass Lakes Photography in Petoskey to look at them with studio owner, Joe Clark.

Clark says it's difficult to say for sure what the figure in the photos is, but it's possible an insect set off that motion sensor.

"It is definitely moth-shaped in the first photo," Clark said. "You can kind of clearly see what looks, or could be interpreted as, wings and a head, but at the same time since it's not clearly in focus and since it is what it is, there may be room for interpretation."

Whether the image was a sign from heaven or an optical illusion, the people who found it say they feel like their prayers have been answered...read more>>>...

OPINION: There will so many of the 'in the bubble people' who will argue until there blue in the face that the shape in the photo is an 'angel'. On first gaze it looks like a humanoid figure with head and body and arms, with gossamer wings. But that is what the brain processing has produced, to understand the pattern on the photo. The brain tries to convert the image into something it understands. But, it looks very much like a moth with its wings and body actually on the camera lens itself . Sorry, this has been debunked, it ain't no angel. 

"Curvature blindness" illusion discovered

S.O.T.T: A series of wavy horizontal lines are shown. All of the lines have exactly the same shape - a sine curve. However, half of the lines appear to have a much more triangular, "zig-zag" shape, when they are superimposed on a grey background. This "zig-zag" appearance is an illusion. 

 
As the effect magnitudes are quite strong, unless one carefully stares at the region that looks like a corner, it is hard to find that all lines are physically wavy. Despite the simplicity and effect magnitudes, to the best of our knowledge, no one has reported about this phenomenon.So what's going on here? 

The brain's visual system may default to seeing corners when there ambiguity over whether a line is a smooth curve or not:

The underlying mechanisms for the gentle curve perception and those of obtuse corner perception are competing with each other in an imbalanced way and the percepts of corner might be dominant in the visual systemThe "zig-zag" lines in the illusion are the ones in which the color of the wavy line changes from dark grey to light grey at the 'corners' i.e. the peaks and troughs of the curve. It is only seen against a medium grey background however, suggesting that what matters is that the color of the wavy lines shifts from being lighter than the background, to being darker than it....read more>>>...

Can YOU spot the panda hidden amongst these zig-zag lines?

Daily Mail: An optical illusion is sweeping the Internet - and leaving online users completely bamboo-zled. Russian artist Ilja Klemencov has hidden a giant panda amongst black and white zig-zag lines in what appears to be the latest mind-altering puzzle featuring the fluffy bear. The clever trick-of-the-eye, titled 'They can disappear', appears to support charity conservation efforts by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)...read more>>>...

Image of the Day

Round and round and round... The optical illusion that will have you in a spin

Is it the spiral staircase to heaven, or a circle of hell? Look at it for a moment, and this brain-baffling optical illusion will begin to spin before your eyes. But what your brain believes is a spiral is actually just four concentric circles..read more>>>...

Image of the Day - 'Just For Fun'

I found this doing the rounds on Facebook ... I've not done a Just For Fun for ages ... I guess its also an optical  illusion ... do you know what this says?

Magic Eye ....

What is this???
Source: http://www.magiceye.com/client/eye.html

I Bet You Won't See It (The Illusion)

Take a moment of your time and carefully observe the photograph on the right hand side ... Have you noticed anything strange in it? How about them cups of hot chocolate? Anything suspicious? If you still have trouble guessing, you may find the solution in here. Now admit it, how many of you got it right? (Mo Illusions)

Magic Eye 3D Picture

Try to find out the inner 3D image by yourself. If you failed, no worry... try again, it may take some time to see the 3D image.

Shocking new 3D speed bump illusion of girl crossing the road that suddenly 'appears' in front of drivers

It sounds like a terrifying experience that would make even the most seasoned of drivers panic or even crash. But a school in Canada is using a bizarre 3D optical illusion of a young girl crossing the road to try and make drivers slow down. The image of a girl chasing after a ball is painted on the road and elongated to make it appear three-dimensional when seen from an approaching car. Critics say that the child’s image could surprise drivers so much that they will slam on the brakes or even swerve off the road if they do not realise the girl is just an illusion. At a distance it just looks like a marking on the road but when the car is 30 metres away it appears to suddenly rise up from the road. When the driver is closer than 30 metres the image appears to sink back into the road. If a car is travelling at the speed limit for the road, 30km/h, then he should be able to stop in time before he reaches the image. Safety experts say the alarming image is designed to teach drivers to always be prepared for the unexpected. (Daily Mail)

Image Of The Day

It looks Photoshopped, but this Magic Tap fountain actually has a pipe hidden in the stream of water. Located in Aqualand, Spain. (Link)

Rotating Snakes Illusion

Mo Illusions

Just For Fun: Magic Eye Image

What is it? ..... courtesy of magiceye.com

'Stairs To Eternity'

Mo Illusions

"Fruit Man Illusions'

Mo Illusions

Image Of The Day

Leap into the unknown: A visitor jumps over the 3d artwork at the theme park in Hai'an, Jiangsu province, China (Daily Mail)