The scintillating grid illusion is also known as the “scintillating checkerboard illusion” and it is a variation of the Hermann grid illusion.
The scintillating grid illusion is caused by the way the visual system processes the edges of the lines forming the grid, creating the appearance of movement in the illusion.
Table of Contents
- How does the Scintillating Grid Illusion work?
- Versions of the Scintillating Grid Illusion
- Illusions like the Scintillating Grid Illusion
- Discovery of the Scintillating Grid Illusion
- References and Resources
How does the Scintillating Grid Illusion work?
The Scintillating Grid Illusion is an optical illusion in which a grid of light gray or white lines on a dark background appears to flicker or “scintillate.” The effect is most pronounced when the observer is looking directly at the intersection of the lines, and it is caused by the way the visual system processes the edges of the lines. The illusion is often used to demonstrate the neural processes that underlie visual perception, and it is related to other optical illusions such as the Hermann grid illusion and the Mach bands illusion.
The Scintillating Grid Illusion is believed to work by the way the brain processes the edges of the lines in the grid. The visual system is sensitive to the contrast between light and dark areas, and the edges of the lines in the grid create a high contrast between the light lines and the dark background. This high contrast causes the visual system to enhance the edges, creating the illusion of flickering or scintillating.
It’s also thought that the mechanism behind this illusion is related to the way the visual system deals with the ambiguous edges of the lines. In the intersection of the lines, the brain receives information that is not clear, and it tries to fill in the missing information by creating the illusion of movement.
Additionally, the illusion is more pronounced when the observer is looking directly at the intersection of the lines, as opposed to looking at the lines themselves. This is likely due to the fact that the visual system is more sensitive to edges that are oriented perpendicular to the line of sight.
Versions of the Scintillating Grid Illusion
The following is an alternate versions of the Scintillating Grid Illusion:
Illusions like the Scintillating Grid Illusion
Color illusions work by exploiting the way that the human visual system processes color and light. The human eye is able to detect light in the visible spectrum, which consists of different wavelengths of light that correspond to different colors. The brain then interprets this information to create our perception of color. However, the way the brain perceives color is not always a perfect representation of the physical reality.
There are several factors that can influence the way that the visual system processes color and light, which can lead to the perception of illusions. These factors include:
Contrast: The way that the brain perceives color can be influenced by the surrounding colors and patterns. High-contrast borders around an area of color can cause the brain to interpret the color as spreading or “bleeding” beyond the actual boundaries of the object.
Lighting conditions: The way that the brain perceives color can also be affected by the lighting conditions. For example, when an object is viewed in bright light, the eye’s color receptors may become fatigued, causing the brain to perceive colors differently than they actually are.
Color adaptation: The brain adapts to the colors that we see over time, which can influence the perception of color. For example, if an individual looks at a red object for an extended period of time, the brain will adapt to the red, and when that person looks at a white object, it will appear to have a pinkish hue.
Color constancy: The brain is able to adjust the perception of color based on the context in which it is viewed. This can create illusions where the same color appears to be different depending on the surrounding colors.
Shape use: Some illusions like the Hermann grid illusion or the Cafe Wall illusion, use specific patterns and shapes to manipulate the perception of color and shape.
Some related illusions include the following:
The Neon Color Spreading illusion refers to the visual phenomenon where an area of color appears to spread or “bleed” beyond its intended boundaries.
The Bezold Effect: This illusion is created by placing two or more colors next to each other, and the way they appear to change when they are close to one another.
The Mach Band Illusion: This illusion is created by the way the brain perceives edges of an object. When an object has a gradient of color, the edges of the object appear to be darker or lighter than they actually are.
The Hermann Grid Illusion: This illusion is created by the way the brain perceives intersections of lines. When the intersections of a grid of lines are viewed, small gray dots appear at the intersections, even though they are not actually there.
The Watercolor Illusion: This illusion is created by the way the brain perceives edges of an object. When an object is surrounded by a colored halo, the object appears to have a different color than it actually does.
The Chevreul Illusion: This illusion is created by the way the brain perceives edges of an object. When the edges of an object are surrounded by a contrasting color, the edges appear to be a different color than they actually are. Chevreul’s illusion is similar to Mach bands, but they work in different ways. Chevreul’s illusion is an effect on the perception of hue, while Mach bands is an effect on the perception of brightness.
The Ishihara Illusion: This illusion is created by the way the brain perceives colors. When a color is surrounded by a contrasting color, the brain perceives the color to be different than it actually is.
The flash lag illusion is a visual illusion that is based on the perception of the temporal relationship between a moving object and a flash of light. The illusion occurs when a moving object is followed by a sudden flash of light, and the perceived location of the flash appears to be behind the actual location of the object.
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.
Discovery of the Scintillating Grid Illusion
It was first described by an American psychologist, Edward H. Adelson in 1995.
Edward Adelson is a professor of vision science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a member of the MIT Media Lab.
He is known for his research in the field of computer vision, particularly his work on the perception of lightness and the “checkerboard illusion.”
He is also a recipient of the David Marr Prize, which is given by the International Association for Computer Vision to “outstanding young investigators” in the field of computer vision.
References and Resources
Check out our complete list of illusions and this related Boxes Aren’t Moving Illusion and this heart shaped version: Scintillating Heart Illusion