The rotating snakes is a peripheral drift illusion that consists of a grid of shapes, with some of them appearing to be rotating or undulating. The illusion is created by the interaction of the shapes with the neural processing of the visual system.
Table of Contents
- How does the Rotating Snakes Illusion work?
- Versions of the Rotating Snakes Illusion
- Illusions like the Rotating Snakes Illusion
- Discovery of the Rotating Snakes Illusion
- References and Resources
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How does the Rotating Snakes Illusion work?
Rotating snakes is a type of peripheral drift illusion.
Peripheral drift illusions refer to a group of optical illusions where an object or pattern appears to be moving even though it is stationary. These illusions are often characterized by a perceived movement in the peripheral vision, hence the name.
Peripheral drift illusions work by exploiting the way the visual system processes information from the peripheral vision. Our eyes have a higher density of receptors, called rods, in the peripheral vision than in the central vision, and these receptors are more sensitive to movement. The peripheral vision also has a lower resolution and is less sensitive to details than the central vision.
Because of these characteristics, the visual system tends to perceive movement in the peripheral vision more easily than in the central vision. In a peripheral drift illusion, the visual elements of the illusion, such as lines or angles, are arranged in such a way that they create the illusion of movement in the peripheral vision.
Another mechanism that can cause peripheral drift illusions is the way that the brain interprets visual information. The brain uses context and prior experience to make sense of visual information, and this can lead to perceptual errors. For example, in the café wall illusion, the brain interprets the angled lines as the edges of a 3D object, which creates the illusion of movement.
In summary, peripheral drift illusions exploit the characteristics of the peripheral vision, such as sensitivity to movement and lower resolution, and the way the brain interprets visual information to create the illusion of movement in stationary images.
Versions of the Rotating Snakes Illusion
The following are some alternate versions of the Rotating Snakes illusion and some other examples of peripheral drift illusions
Illusions like the Rotating Snakes Illusion
Peripheral drift illusions refer to a group of optical illusions where an object or pattern appears to be moving even though it is stationary. These illusions are often characterized by a perceived movement in the peripheral vision, hence the name.
Some illusions like Rotating Snakes and peripheral drift illusion include:
The Moiré pattern illusion: This illusion is created by superimposing two similar patterns on top of each other, such as a grid of lines or circles. The resulting pattern appears to be moving or changing.
The Scintillating Grid Illusion, in which a grid of black and white squares appears to pulsate or “breathe” when viewed from the periphery of the image.
The Hermann Grid Illusion, in which the intersections of a white grid on a black background appear to be gray, even though they are actually the same color as the background.
The Zöllner Illusion, in which parallel lines appear to be tilted or bent when intersected by diagonal lines.
The Fraser Spiral Illusion, in which a pattern of short, curved lines appears to form a spiral.
The Hering Illusion, in which two straight lines appear to be curved due to the presence of surrounding lines.
The Café Wall Illusion is a visual illusion that is created by a grid of alternating light and dark horizontal and vertical lines. The lines appear to be bent or tilted, even though they are actually straight.
These illusions are usually caused by the way our eyes process visual information and the way the brain interprets it. They can also be caused by the interaction of different visual elements, such as lines and angles, in the image. They are often used in research on visual perception and the neural basis of perception.
Discovery of the Rotating Snakes Illusion
The most famous variant of the rotating snakes illusion was created by Akiyoshi Kitaoka.
Akiyoshi Kitaoka is a Japanese psychologist and professor at Ritsumeikan University, known for his research and popularization of visual illusions.
He has published numerous papers and books on the topic, and has created many original illusions, such as the Rotating Snakes illusion and the “Rainbow” illusion.
He is considered one of the leading experts on visual perception and the cognitive processes that underlie it.
Kitaoka has a personal website called “Akiyoshi’s Illusion Pages” in which he displays his research and creations of illusions.
He has won several awards for his work, including the Award for Outstanding Research on Visual Perception from the Japanese Society for Visual Perception.
References and Resources
Check out our complete list of illusions.