Art Of Optical Illusions
by Al Seckel
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Book Summary Information
Author: Al SeckelEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2000-09-01
ISBN: 1842220543
Number of pages: 160
Publisher: Carlton Books
Book Reviews of Art Of Optical Illusions
Book Review: The Creative Intelligence of Vision
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Art of Optical Illusions" will trick and treat your eyes. Images appear from nowhere, flat surfaces become three-dimensional, and pictures with paradoxes become peculiarly perplexing. This is a true amusement park for the mind.
The lavishly produced collection of 150 color and black and white pictures are displayed in four galleries. Each gallery is followed by a page containing the explanations for the illusions. Under each picture, there is a short description of how to enjoy the illusion or a description of how to make the illusion work.
On page 78, I found a purple and white Figure/Ground illusion. When you focus on the white images, you see kitchen tools. When you focus on the purple image, you also see kitchen tools. The picture of the cherry pie is also amusing. First you see a pie minus a piece, then you see just a piece of pie in the pie plate. The picture of the "Impossible Triangle" took me about 3 minutes to figure out. I really had to think on that one and many of the images do stimulate thinking. When I did figure it out, it was enlightening. For some reason the calculation on page 37 worked for me the first time.
The "Heart Afterimage" was fun. You have to steadily stare at a black dot in the middle of a green heart surrounded by a yellow heart. Then, when you look on a white page, you see a red heart. The "Folded Chess Set" is so amusing, your eyes cannot keep the image in one place. The chessboard keeps moving back and forth and you feel like you are going to get dizzy if you keep looking at it.
Now, I must admit....I cheated on a few of the illusions and still haven't figured out the one on page 115. There are plenty of scientific reasons to explain why the illusions work. You can look up the images by number at the end of each gallery chapter.
As a child I was introduced to a small book of illusions and since then I have been fascinated with optical effects and visual perception. Vision science is now one of the most exciting areas being researched. Al Seckel is one of the world's leading authorities on illusions and designs interactive illusion and perception galleries for science museums. He is currently working in the Division of Computational and Neuronal Systems at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
This book will amuse and intrigue you. It will delight your mind and make you laugh as the answer to a puzzling picture suddenly pops out and surprises you. The images are unusual and you will have to take out a ruler and measure the tabletops on page 10. Then you still won't believe they are the same size! On page 3 you will see yellow dots, but as you look around the page, they start to blink. I saw black dots in the middle of the yellow dots. This made them appear to be blinking, but there are no real black dots.
Welcome to "The Creative Intelligence of Vision." You are going to love this collection of visual puzzles and enigmatic designs. Keep this on your coffee table to amuse all your friends. This is a true classic study of illusions.
"Whilst part of what we perceive comes through our senses from the object before us, another part (and it may be the larger part) always comes out of our own mind." --William James
~The Rebecca Review
Summary of Art Of Optical Illusions
Optical illusions have fascinated the human mind for centuries. Bu defying common perception and the working of the eye with stuble, mind-teasing images, optical illusions are presented in both color and black and white.Graphic Design Books
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