Really neat illusion

from WinCustomize Forums
http://www-bcs.mit.edu/people/adelson/checkershadow_illusion.html

The squares denoted by A and B are actually the same shade of grey. Really cool!

Here are some animated examples
http://www-bcs.mit.edu/gaz/main-frameset.html

And here's the indepth analysis (warning: eye-glazing technical stuff ahead...)
http://www-bcs.mit.edu/people/adelson/publications/gazzan.dir/gazzan.htm

10,257 views 15 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
That's amazing... the checkerboard is one of the best examples of that illusion I've ever seen.
Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I was totally sceptical about it, so I broke out Zoomer and checked the colours, and they are identical.
That's a fantastic page.
ObjectDock - Access shortcuts and frequently used applications from an animated dock.
Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Yes, they are identical...and a very clear example of the illusion...
Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Thanx Chris. The animations are quite 'eye opening' .....
Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Wow, like Hippy, I couldn't believe they were the same. I opened the image in Photoshop and masked everything but the two square. Yep, the same.
Reply #8 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I would have bet $100.00 that they were different, but my color picker doesn't lie. In a world where it's hard to find anything to trust, I now find that I can't even trust my eyeballs! Thank you Chris - er, I think.
Reply #9 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Does this have anything to do with the well known morning after optical disillusion phenomenon??
Reply #10 from WinCustomize Forums Top
What an piece of work is man... I had to use colorpad to check it, even after reading that everyone else had checked it. I was sure you were all wrong The demo's were great.

Powered by SkinBrowser!
Reply #11 from WinCustomize Forums Top
!!!
Reply #12 from WinCustomize Forums Top
This one won me some money, but I had to take along screenshots of the squares being checked with a color picker. People would not believe it without hard evidence. Then again, neither did I.
Reply #13 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Context is everything. Though this was a bit extreme. The one in the shade seems lighter because of its darker surroundings and the other way around. Which is because we view things based on contrast, not on absolutes.
Reply #14 from WinCustomize Forums Top
The moral of this story is to surround yourself with yutzes if you're hell bent on looking good. And keep Superman 20 feet away at all times.
Reply #15 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Crae, absolutely right! I love the illusion, but if you look closely you will notice the uphilly slope at the left back side. This is due to the wrong tonation of the grey and why a=b If you have the tonation right you will create depth and lose the illusion...

Powered by SkinBrowser!