Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Very Neat Visual Illusions - the Breaking Curveball

The top winners of a contest sponsored by the Neural Correlate Society are presented on the American Institute of Physics web site - including a stunning visual demonstrating baseball's "Breaking Curve"!

When I would hear announcers talk about the breaking curve ball, I knew that the ball could not suddenly change direction in mid course. Not being a player, I didn't understand what the pitcher was throwing, or what the batter was seeing. This illusion explains both quite nicely.

Another illusion I found interesting was one of a face made to look more feminine or more masculine by controlling contrast. As a sometime photographer, the idea intrigues me - it may explain a lot of the images we see in advertising, and the blurring of genders through Photoshopped images.

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