The Hering illusion is a visual illusion that involves the perception of curved lines as being bowed inwards or outwards. In the illusion, the red lines appear to curve. In realty, the red lines are perfectly straight.
Table of Contents
- How does the Hering Illusion work?
- Versions of the Hering Illusion
- Illusions like the Hering Illusion
- Discovery of the Hering Illusion
- References and Resources
- Sign up for emails from Mental Bomb
How does the Hering Illusion work?
The Hering illusion is a visual illusion that involves the perception of curved lines as being bowed inwards or outwards. The illusion is named after the German physiologist Ewald Hering, who first described it in 1861. The illusion is often used to study the perception of depth and the role of the visual system in shaping our perception of the world.
The illusion is created by placing a series of parallel lines in the form of a rectangle, with the lines on one side of the rectangle being closer together than the lines on the other side. This creates the illusion that the lines on one side of the rectangle are bowed inwards, while the lines on the other side appear to be bowed outwards.
The perception of the illusion is thought to be caused by the brain’s tendency to perceive the lines as being farther away or closer based on their spacing. The lines that are closer together are perceived as being farther away, while the lines that are farther apart are perceived as being closer. This leads to the perception of the lines as curved, when in reality they are straight.
The Hering illusion is used to demonstrate the role that context and surrounding plays in shaping our perception of reality. It also highlights how the brain uses depth cues such as relative size, distance, and position to perceive the 3D world around us.
Versions of the Hering Illusion
The following are some alternate versions of the Hering Illusion:
red lines are perfectly straight
red lines are perfectly straight
Illusions like the Hering Illusion
The following are some illusions similar to the Hering Illusion.
The Zöllner illusion is a visual illusion in which parallel lines appear to be angled due to the presence of intersecting lines.
The illusion is often used to study the brain’s perception of shape and spatial relationships. It is considered one of the most powerful and striking examples of a geometrical-optical illusion. The perception of the illusion can be explained by the brain’s tendency to group lines together based on their similarity in direction and spacing, which can lead to an overestimation of the angle between the parallel lines.
The Müller-Lyer illusion: This illusion involves lines with arrowheads at the ends, which can make a line appear longer or shorter depending on the direction of the arrowheads.
The Poggendorff illusion is a visual illusion in which the brain perceives a diagonal line as being interrupted by an object, even though the line is actually continuous. The illusion is created by the misalignment of two parallel lines that are intersected by a third line at a certain angle.
The Orbison illusion is an illusion of movement that is created when stationary, parallel lines are placed on a background of radiating lines. The parallel lines appear to be moving in the direction of the radiating lines, even though they are actually stationary. This illusion is thought to be caused by the interaction between the parallel lines and the radiating lines, which creates an illusion of movement in the brain.
The Wundt illusion is an optical illusion produces an inversed effect compared to the Hering Illusion. The vertical lines are both straight, but they may look as if they are curved inwards.
Discovery of the Hering Illusion
The illusion is named after the German physiologist Ewald Hering, who first described it in 1861.
Ewald Hering was a German physiologist and psychologist who lived in the 19th and early 20th centuries. He is best known for his research on perception and visual illusions, particularly the Hering illusion, which is named after him.
Hering’s work in perception focused on the process of color vision and binocular depth perception, and he proposed several theories to explain these phenomena. He also made important contributions to the study of visual illusions, and was one of the first researchers to systematically study the factors that influence the perception of depth and distance.
In addition to his research, Hering was also an influential teacher and mentor to many other researchers in the field of perception and vision. He held positions at several universities in Germany, including the University of Berlin and the University of Würzburg, where he trained many students who went on to make their own contributions to the field.
References and Resources
Check out our complete list of illusions.
.