RSS Twitter Newsletter Widgets

October 8, 2009 by Vurdlak | Share  

This is a diamond variation of the Craik O’Brien Cornsweet illusion. What you have to do, is to look at each row of diamonds below. Does each row appear darker than the row above it? It sure does to me. In reality, all of the diamond shapes present in this figure are in fact identical in luminance. The reason for this illusions, is that when combined in this pattern, the diamonds near the bottom are perceived darker than those near the top!

blue-triangles-illusion

UPDATE: Check out the video below, recently uploaded on YouTube. This guy showed how this illusion works in real life:

The benefits of taking a broader approach to problem solving can be seen everywhere, even in something as seemingly arbitrary as games of chance, best casino games, or online gaming in general. I just wanted to reference back to our recent topic about gambling… Pause for a second and consider exactly what’s motivating you. Word of advice: if you’re trying to make extra money by playing online poker but failing, maybe being a successful poker player simply isn’t in the cards for you. Instead of abandoning the game and all you’ve learned, though, perhaps you can make your millions instead by writing a screenplay about poker (such as Rounders), or by getting a job as a programmer for an online poker site, if you have skills such as creative writing or computer programming. Instead of getting locked into thinking that there’s only one possible solution to your problem, step back and consider all the angles, and open yourself up to all the possibilities that might present themselves to you. Take care, and be responsible!

Comments

18 Responses
  1. Care Bear says:

    Not really. The colors are graduated, that’s all. Nice to look at, though. I love blue.

  2. Jimmy says:

    1st comment!very nice illusion

  3. 1st (or second comment) but great illusion.is it real?its very hard to believe

  4. Ashley says:

    awesome!

  5. Manu says:

    And, if you stare at the center for 30 seconds or so, you will be able to see nothing but a blue square and no diamonds. Can anyone do it too? The diamonds disappear

  6. Luca says:

    They are not the same color. I was intrigued by this so i took the picture into photoshop, where i clicked the eyedropper around it in random places, and the shade of blue was changing.

  7. No one, says:

    huh…cool…who knew a simple shape could be so….like an illusion?

  8. Ms.Observant says:

    OMG IF U STARE AT IT FOR A LONG TIME AND CONCENTRATE IN THE MIDDLE AND STUFF IT LOOKS LIKE THE SAME SHADE OF BLUE! O.O

  9. Dee says:

    Blue diamonds don’t appear to be all the same luminance. Paste the image into a picture editor then paste another copy right next to it. Flip the second copy 180 degrees and slide it over to match up the edges of the diamonds to make the pattern seamless. There’s a clear difference. Aside from that, if both rows of diamonds were the same, there would be no line demarking where they met and the whole center would be one color, not showing any diamonds at all.

  10. Michael says:

    I think everyone’s misunderstanding Vurdiak. All of the diamonds are identical, though each becomes gradually darker towards the bottom.

    Put in this pattern, it does appear that the bottom diamonds are, on the whole, darker than the ones on top. Rather than using Photoshop, just cover up everything around the bottom of two diamonds on different rows with your hands. Compare them, and they look identical, but when you remove your hands, they suddenly look different again.

    Cool illusion, Vurdiak, and congrats on your ever-improving English!

  11. Peet says:

    I wonder if the pattern had 4 full rows and two half rows of diamonds if the rows would appear to get darker as you moved lower, or if only thetop and bottom rows are affected (top appears lighter and bottom darker).

    I rather suspect this is due to the top and bottom rows being just half diamonds and it is their effect giving the illusion.

  12. Gordon says:

    Cool effect. It also produces an image similar to a stereograph, providing 3D depth.

  13. Jenni says:

    I agree with Michael – the colour is graduated, and the same for all the diamonds

  14. Rummy says:

    Michael seems to get it, I didn’t at first either and did a little thing with the image in paint. What Vurdlak means to say is that all the diamonds are identical, and thus collectively identical in luminesence. Each diamond IS graduated in colour, going from dark to light, but all the diamonds used at the exact same ones tessellated, a very intersting effect.

  15. Detective Kitty says:

    this is actually pretty brilliant…no need for explanation again…but this is pretty awesome….

  16. salad says:

    OH! I just got how it works. Duhhh. Wow, that’s insane! Cooooooool.

  17. jeanbrown says:

    Yes, Manu I see what you mean, cool!

  18. Raiker says:

    i can´t belive it good illusion

Speak Your Mind