By Vurdlak on October 2, 2008, with 56 Comments
Important: Vista Gadget has been updated again (version 7.0), so feel free to download this new version if you have problems with the previous one. This one loads optical illusions quicker and without companion issues. Once you arrive to the vista download page, I would REALLY appreciate if you rate the gadget with 5 stars, and add comment that it is working now, so others don’t get the wrong feeling seeing previous bad comments for the lesser version. Also, I have changed the “Featured Post” to give you more insight into our Optical Illusions RSS Feed.
Now let’s see what else have I prepared for today. There are 3 awesome photographs inside article’s body, and I can assure you that none was manipulated in photoshop, nor in any other image editing tool. They represent simple objects seen in real life, and your assignment is to try and guess their nature. Are they embossed or impressed? I’m still not sure if they are convex or concave, thus can’t be sure what the images represent. For example, the second one looked like a topless pyramid of some sort, but then again it could as well represent a small hole in a ceiling. Can you be absolutely sure what you see? Let’s discuss!
(25 votes)
They are all impressed
#1 Hole in a wall/floor
#2 Skylight (can’t be a lampshade due to shadows on the grit texture)
#3 Corner of a room with dodgy plasterwork
impressed
woah. i love this
are both
im thinking theyre all impressed
there is no illusion except the first one….
I can’t get the first picture??? It doesn’t look like a hole in a wall or floor, but if it is, it would be related with the other two pics.
Agreed (thought the last tok me half a second)
Must agree to FixitDave, those were really easy
The “dodgy plasterwork” comment made me laugh. :)
Awesome, I love these. Even though I know exactly what it is, it’s still cool that I can force my eyes to see it as a completely different object.
i’m impressed. XD
+1 for #3 : impressed because of the spiderweb !! ^^
Yeah, these are pretty obvious.
#1 is an impression and actually looks like the lines serve to drain liquid into the hole.
#2 is a Sqare cut in the celing for a sky light.
#3 you can totally tell that’s the corner near the ceiling of the room because there’s cobwebs around it.
I see the first one as embossed at first and the same with the second one but the third I see as impressed. I can see them both ways if I change where I am looking at though.
The first one is nice, but becomes obvious when you look at the mortar of the bricks on the bottom. If it were sticking up as it appears, the mortar and thus the brick edges would be hidden behind the mass of the bump, but since it’s an impression and not a bump, you can see them :)
1st is upside down dome
2nd is skiylight
3rd is unknown
Dave, you nailed it on the head.
i came to the same conclusions
Nice
I’m impressed!
I think the spiders webs sort of give the last one away!
Impressive
Excelent. Cool one.
the first one can also be a sink. any way they are all impressed
I agree with FixitDave.
Amazing!
What FixitDave said!
I’m impressed. =)
Sorry- but are you guys dumb? He said no photoshop, so that leaves you with the OBVIOUS!
It is not that simple – Is is both. Depends on how you look.
I’M impressed! Good illusions! :-)
Really good!
1. I would go with a hole rather than a dome
2. A skylight
3. really can’t decide between a corner or a room or a corner of a cube
“its both embossed and impressed”…
so says my sister -_-”
yea I agree they’re all impressed
1) impressed (it’s a matter of perspective, just look at the lines)
2) impressed (sort of hole in a ceiling)
3) embossed (I think it’s a cube, for the light is on a side only)
ALL IMPRESSED but the first onr is the most tricky i am not sure!!
I agree with FixitDave, they are all impressed.
The surronding flagstones on the first image give it away.
Second image is unmistakable if you have ever seen the disgusting decorating material called Artex.
Third image; if it was embossed the shadows would be different, hard to quantify how, they just would and you would be able to tell.
That doesn’t detract from the illusionary effect which is quite good on these.
Happy its not wolves or horses for a change :D
Hmm..
I think the first was embossed but the others were impressed
the last one is embossed, because otherwise there would be more light on the other two sides of the wall, not such a stark contrast.
embossed:
A half sphere coming out of the ceiling
a flat topped pyramid
The front corner of a box
Actually, they can be seen either way, which is why they are optical illusions.
The first can only be embossed as far as I can see, as the little gullies around the edge and the light/shadows only make sense that way. So HA! not an illusion.
If the second is a regular shape it can only be a skylight.
But the third lost me. If it wasn’t for the spider’s web I would have gone 4 the corner of a room.
All are impressed.
#1: If this was embossed, then the mortar would be sticking out which is not the way this is done.
#2: Obviously a skylight. Seeing it as a pyramid does not really work.
#3: A corner of a room with spiderwebs. This one was the most interesting to me since when I imagined it as embossed it looked like a microscope/closeup picture of a very small object instead of a large one.
1st. I’m sure its impressed, by the lines and light. Maybe it’s on the floor.
2nd. Obviously impressed too. For a skylight.
3rd. Not sure. The edges make think in a embossed cube corner but some lines look as spiderwebs. Based on the light and some shapes I say impressed room corner.
Neat how your eyes can see both views.
All three are insight rich figures about how perceived depths (convex vs concave) are determined, and what information is used for giving rise to such a particular percept. I believe all three are worth of psychological inquiry.
if you look at the third it could be a cube with a top and sides not just “a corner with cobwebs or dodgy plaster”
haha
fun stuff
I think #2 is a pyramid.
I Reckon That They Are All Impressed,
1. Hole in Wall
2. Skylight
3. Edge Of A Cube
Cool
actually, people really dont know if it is embossed of impressed because we only see the picture in 2-D through the screen.. this also works on the television..
the first can be easily classified as a hole in floor/ceiling because if you look closely you can see the surrounding brickword at the front of the hole infront of the whole this would not be there if it was convex
I can see both sides if I focus and make my eyes adjust.
i see it and I have seen these kinds of thing in real life before too
the first one is used a lot in cultural buildings
The second is a hole in a roof, the light comes in at a certain angle to make the room look better
and the third is the top corner of a room
both if u look the right way
Woah! Niiiiice!!!!
LOL. The last one is a friggin wall.. of course it’s embossed… -_-
The only one I can’t be sure of is the third, cause it could be the angle of a parallelepiped seen by the inside or the outside. The close-up makes it difficult to understand which is the truth.