Blog #4: What is the theory behind optical illusions?

Round 2 of Research

What is the theory behind optical illusions?

In the previous post, I explained and introduced what optical illusions are and the role they played throughout history. Now, following my second sub question for the second round of research, I will dig deeper into the theory behind optical illusions. Many people had different ideas about optical illusions over time, what their purpose was and why our brains process them the way they do.

This is an important question to address because understanding the theories behind optical illusions will help us in seeing the different aspects of it. Some see them as works of art, others use them for neuroscience reasoning, and majority will see them as silly, deceitful images. Optical illusions would not have been evolved to the present if they did not have some fundamental meaning behind them. From what I have found and through my understanding, here are theories about optical illusions.

Seeing is believing right? Well, that is not always the case. Studies say that our senses gather information and send it to brain. From there, our brain creates a perception of the world, of what we see and therefore what we think. This is where our imagination takes a stand. When there is incomplete information being sent to the brain, our brain fills in the gaps; consequently, this can lead to us seeing something that isn’t fully there.

This happens because our brain tries its best to piece things together with what it is given.

The science of visual optical illusions can teach us about the world around us. When we look at an optical illusion, it may not always be what it seems. Our brain misinterprets some stuff, so what? Like all misperceptions, this shows us that the way our brain seems reality is not perfect. However, this concept has driven scientists to dig for a deeper understanding of optical illusions and what its almost philosophical truths can tell us about the nature of our consciousness. The challenge of visual illusions (which are the same name for optical illusions) has created the theory that our brain matches the real, physical world most of the time – but not always. Other times, like previously said, our brain will attempt to fill gaps according what it already has such as past experiences. Illusions have given experts the chance to see how are brain decides what’s real and what is not, the extent of the brain’s limits, and the significance of perception.

Optical illusions have been found to help people understand how their brain works, better. If science says that our brains tend to make up stories and fill in the gaps, then that is where the conflict of reality and perception come in. Now, do not see this as a way to doubt your senses or your thoughts, but instead, see it as an opportunity to look for your blindspots and become better thinkers. Furthermore, not everyone will perceive or interpret things the same. When people misperceive reality, we ourselves may not agree with their interpretation but we can understand where it comes from.

I began this inquiry with the question of how optical illusions connect to our personalities. In further analysis, these illusions can tell us traits about ourselves. You may have heard that the way you see things, reflects who you are as a person. Well isn’t it? We are inherently inclined to see and interpret things from our own perspectives. Which is an idle segment in how an individual stands out from others. In this theory, it talks about dimensions. See, we live in a three dimensional world. Everything we see and visualize is product of colour, depth, lighting, shape, and more. However, optical illusions are only two dimensional. This forces our brain to work a different way in order to understand what it is seeing. That is a way of optical illusion paying tricks on your mind. With this information, it was predicted that optical illusions can determine parts of your personality because perception holds a great deal of who you are.

Overall, the theories of optical illusions have evolved a lot. The Greek philosopher named Epicharmus used to think that our brains were not at fault for the perception of optical illusions but instead it was our senses that were betraying us. Another named Protagoras had a different theory entirely. He proposed that our eyes had nothing to do with how we perceived images, but it depended on the environment in which they were viewed. Presently, it is believed that our brain is just misinterpreting the images incorrectly, while our senses are doing their job at gathering the information. Optical illusions play a role in helping scientists and psychologists understand how vision works and the relationship with the brain. Thank you for making it this far and reading!

Resources:

Optical illusions and how they work: AMNH. American Museum of Natural History. (n.d.). https://www.amnh.org/explore/ology/brain/optical-illusions-and-how-they-work

Resnick, B. (2020, June 22). “Reality” is constructed by your brain. Here’s what that means, and why it matters. Vox. https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/20978285/optical-illusion-science-humility-reality-polarization

Wang, L. (2017, February 2). 8 Mind-Bending Optical Illusions (And What They Reveal About How Our Brains Work). Visual Learning Center by Visme. https://visme.co/blog/best-optical-illusions/