The Illusion Only Some People Can See

  • Am Vor 2 years

    VeritasiumVeritasium
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    Ames window illusion illustrates how we don't directly perceive external reality. Special Holiday deal! Go to NordVPN.com/veritasium and use code VERITASIUM to get 68% off a 2 year plan plus 4 additional months free. It’s risk free with Nord’s 30 day money-back guarantee!
    Special thanks to:
    Prof. Phil Kellman from UCLA Psychology kellmanlab.psych.ucla.edu
    Museum of Illusions in Los Angeles for the use of their Ames Room laillusions.com
    Curiosity Show - Video on Ames Illusion: • The Magical, Mystical,...
    References:
    Ames, A., Jr. (1951). Visual perception and the rotating trapezoidal window. Psychological Monographs: General and Applied, 65(7), i-32. doi.org/10.1037/h0093600
    Marcel de Heer & Thomas V. Papathomas (2017) The Ames Window Illusion and Its Variations
    DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199794607.003.0014
    Oross, Stephen, Francis, Ellie, Mauk, Deborah & Fox, Robert. (1987). The Ames Window Illusion: Perception of Illusory Motion by Human Infants. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance, 13(4), 609-613.
    Behrens, R. (1987). The Life and Unusual Ideas of Adelbert Ames, Jr. Leonardo, 20(3), 273-279. doi:10.2307/1578173
    Burnham, C., & Ono, H. (1969). Variables Altering Perception of the Rotating Trapezoidal Illusion. The American Journal of Psychology, 82(1), 86-95. doi:10.2307/1420609
    Allport, G. W., & Pettigrew, T. F. (1957). Cultural influence on the perception of movement: The trapezoidal illusion among Zulus. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 55(1), 104-113. doi.org/10.1037/h0049372
    Zenhausern R. Effect of Perspective on Two Trapezoid Illusions. Perceptual and Motor Skills. 1969;28(3):1003-1009. doi:10.2466/pms.1969.28.3.1003
    Gehringer, W. L., & Engel, E. (1986). Effect of ecological viewing conditions on the Ames' distorted room illusion. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 12(2), 181-185. doi.org/10.1037/0096-1523.12....
    Long, G.M., Toppino, T.C. Adaptation effects and reversible figures: A comment on Horlitz and O’Leary. Perception & Psychophysics 56, 605-610 (1994). doi.org/10.3758/BF03206956
    Gregory RL. Looking through the Ames window. Perception. 2009;38(12):1739-40. doi: 10.1068/p3812ed. PMID: 20192124.
    Jahoda, G. (1966). Geometric illusions and environment: A study in Ghana. British Journal of Psychology, 57(1-2), 193-199. doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8295.1...
    V. Mary Stewart (1974) A Cross-Cultural Test of the “Carpentered World” Hypothesis Using The Ames Distorted Room Illusion, International Journal of Psychology, 9:2, 79-89, DOI: 10.1080/00207597408247094
    Margaret Kathleen Cappone (1966) The Effect of Verbal Suggestion on the Reversal Rate of the Ames Trapezoid Illusion, The Journal of Psychology, 62:2, 211-219, DOI: 10.1080/00223980.1966.10543786
    Researched and written by Petr Lebedev and Derek Muller
    Filmed by Derek Muller and Raquel Nuno
    Animations, VFX, and Music by Jonny Hyman
    Ames Room VFX and additional Ames Window animation by Nicolas Pratt
    Additional Music from epidemicsound.com "Life in Color" "Singularity"
    Large Ames window construction by GW Construction
    Video supplied by Getty Images

@MakersMuse +14390
@MakersMuse

Dude, the example with the rubix cube absolutely broke me. Even if you try to cheat and look at an edge it still tricks you. The Curiosity Show is a goldmine!

Vor 2 years
@hegmonster +224
@hegmonster

Made me kind of nauseas. Must be what HP Lovecraft meant by non-euclidean geometry.

Vor 2 years
@jakeengland1430 +38
@jakeengland1430

well hello there are we going to be seeing this in one of your next puzzle boxes ?

Vor 2 years
@Orroset +33
@Orroset

The only way I could help my subconscious understand, is if I pause, and frame by frame tell my subconscious side what's going on..

Vor 2 years
@ScottBub +78
@ScottBub

Try looking at the small end of the rotating object and force your sight to see the rotation. It doesn’t work every time for me, but got it to work a couple/few times.

Vor 2 years
@erikig +82
@erikig

When you try to think outside the box, but your brain is the box

Vor 2 years
@vulcanh254 +463
@vulcanh254

This is fascinating and mind boggling. Even knowing what the image looks like, knowing that it's rotating, knowing how the illusion works and why my brain is fooled, I still can't see it any other way. It just seems impossible for my brain to look at it as rotating naturally.

Vor year
@blankblank +8
@blankblank

Thats a lack of thought control to the best of my knowledge. If you want to be able to better perceive illusions and such you should play around with some thought experiments

Vor year
@fiecl4383 +4
@fiecl4383

Try staring at the outermost line, you'll see that it rotates!

Vor year
@Yea___ +42
@Yea___

@@blankblank jesus christ

Vor year
@blankblank
@blankblank

@@fiecl4383 ?

Vor year
@youtuber7186 +25
@youtuber7186

@@blankblank It's not a conscious process whatsoever. Some people will never be able to perceive it differently because of how their brain computes the stream that the consciousness views.

Vor year
@SouthernWolff +115
@SouthernWolff

The only time I was able to see it NOT oscillating, was toward the late middle portion of the video ( 11:58 ) , when you were showing the jumbo window spinning, shot from outside of your (real) window. I was able to follow the under/bottomside of the lower corner of the short side in a full 360° spin. If I diverted my attention to any other portion of the spinning window, it appeared to oscillate.

Vor 11 Monate
@aaraizashraf8736 +2
@aaraizashraf8736

same

Vor 11 Monate
@lalitjain1969 +1
@lalitjain1969

Same man

Vor 11 Monate
@Min_Ye_Lin
@Min_Ye_Lin

Supposed to happen

Vor 5 Monate
@ZphyZphyer +1
@ZphyZphyer

Same

Vor 5 Monate
@vanessaashford9203 +15
@vanessaashford9203

it initially looks like it stops for me, but once I fully understood what was happening with the Rubik's cube it (somewhat) broke the illusion for me as my brain adjusted to what I was actually looking at. Also, interestingly, the Ames room illusion has always been really fickle for me, I only seem to actually get it about a third of the time or so. The way someone once explained it to me, the reason these types of illusions ultimately work usually has to do with the fact that we actually only have 2D vision, not 3D vision (if we had the latter, we'd be able to see every surface of every object from all angles simultaneously, which is obviously so different from how our vision *actually* works that it's not even really possible to imagine it accurately, but this is how a hypothetical 4D being would presumably see the world), but our brains are really good at combining 2D images from our retinas together to allow us to perceive depth (from a single directional vantage point, at least) and distance in 3D space. Our brains are *so* good at it, in fact, that they'll even do it with actual entirely 2D images like paintings, photos, etc. not to mention moving sequences of 2D images like films or animation. However, this means that our brain can also be somewhat easily "tricked" into perceiving illusionary depth in other situations where it seems to directly contradict other visual information we are receiving (because really, all depth perception is kind of an illusion for us in some sense), like when an object appears to move in a way which doesn't square with the way our brain wants to fit it into 3D space (which is sort of what's going on here). The reason it varies somewhat is because different people's brains are essentially trained to intuit somewhat differently shaped 3D spaces (like the interior of a rectilinear building versus a rounded building, for instance) depending on what they get used to during the very early formative years of childhood when we're all first learning to understand this space which we can only *directly* perceive a little over 2 dimensions of at most. But even with these differences accounted for, *no one* can actually see in 3D, it's just not possible with the physics of how light moves through three spatial dimensions, and the physiology of how our eyes are able to obtain sensory information from visible light. Obviously, this last part is pretty much me restating what the video already says, but yeah, our limitations due to 2D vision are usually what's ultimately to blame for oddities like this.

Vor year
@ozone7 +85
@ozone7

I love your mix of scientific, philosofical, strange and fun stuff! And you always sort out the worst tangles so that everyone can get a glimpse at least of how it hangs together! Keep up the good work!

Vor year
@frederickchase5941 +50
@frederickchase5941

I first became aware of this illusion while in person at Six Flags in Atlanta, Georgia back in the early 70's when, after stepping into a "Room", the perceived perception of depths & distance conflicted with my natural understanding of the world. I was maybe 11 years old back then and the illusion imprinted on me. Thes explanation from this video helped explain the perception.

Vor 11 Monate
@darinheinz
@darinheinz

The "Ames Room" was named for American opthalmologist Adelbert Ames, Jr., who also created the first illusion.

Vor Monat
@eltraductor_ok +527
@eltraductor_ok

Amazing! I've seen this video weeks ago, but just came back to say: I love it.

Vor 2 years
@RussellandJacobMontagevideos +1
@RussellandJacobMontagevideos

'Amazing! I've (I have) seen this video weeks ago, but just came back to say, "I love it!" ' ************ It is an awesome video though lool. :P

Vor 2 years
@williamzhang970 +2
@williamzhang970

@@RussellandJacobMontagevideos what

Vor 2 years
@Epignosis14 +7
@Epignosis14

Que demonios haces aquí Fred?

Vor 2 years
@Epignosis14 +4
@Epignosis14

Grande traductor, me encantan tus videos, sigue así hermano, saludos desde México

Vor 2 years
@alejofernandez6847 +2
@alejofernandez6847

Sos un capo traductor, no esperaba encontrarte aca jajajaja

Vor 2 years
@dragoneye275 +81
@dragoneye275

my favorite part in all of these illusions, is when you manage to see the real thing, and your brain updates your beliefs about the object you're seeing. with the window, for example, when i see the larger side getting away from me instead of getting closer, my brain tells me "btw that side is like super big". and that's extra weird because it gets smaller (in my precpective) as it travels away.

Vor year
@Incepter. +61
@Incepter.

The Ames Window Illusion is just so mind-boggling to me, no matter how much I tried to trick it, it always seems to me that it is oscillating.

Vor 11 Monate
@aoifezeleska8914 +2
@aoifezeleska8914

One of my favourite illusions. I love how the shorter end tricks the brain and mind into perceiving back/forth; when my eyes clearly see the short end coming towards me/the screen. I find following the short side allows me to perceive the rotation and break the illusion. Also, my method works even better for me being tired af, so my noodle isn't opperating as properly as it should and allows my eyes to be able to catch the spinning, exnaying the back/forth completely.

Vor 7 Monate
@grimtt +55
@grimtt

Early film makers used these principles to create dynamic scenes, esp since early film cameras weren’t particularly mobile; they had to bring the scene to the camera rather than vice versa. Plus the budget wasn’t high so easier to create a big appearing room using depth of vision tricks that to build an actual large room.

Vor year
@RaymondHng +2
@RaymondHng

Set designers for the stage have been doing this before the invention of film.

Vor year
@khanakvanjani1114 +2
@khanakvanjani1114

The proportions of the smaller and larger side seem to be important. I understand how the illusion works, and I can see it rotating for a moment! It’s like the illusion breaks. But mostly it oscillates.

Vor 4 Monate
@SebastianLague +697
@SebastianLague

Can't get to the rest of the video because I keep replaying the bit at 0:18 over and over again. Such an incredibly bizarre-looking effect! I'm very curious to learn how it works, juust gotta watch it again one more time...

Vor 2 years
@arnavjain7564 +28
@arnavjain7564

Damn Sebastian lague!!!! I Love your channel

Vor 2 years
@normalhumanbeing6066 +7
@normalhumanbeing6066

*one more time*

Vor 2 years
@schristopher7930 +9
@schristopher7930

Dang, not all surprised you'd be watching this, your new series on binary circuit logic is really great, thanks and happy new year.

Vor 2 years
@strange498 +1
@strange498

I can finally un see it

Vor 2 years
@sorio99 +7
@sorio99

For some reason (possibly just memories from the first time I ever saw it), I always see the skull in the painting as a skull, just warped like it was skewed in Photoshop. Honestly, just impresses me that Holbein was able to do that with paint.

Vor 11 Monate
@Anonymous-sv2mr +2
@Anonymous-sv2mr

Outstanding. Your closing point is timely, and wow.... relevant. That also made me think about a perplexing mystery (one that you have probably covered). Specifically, the Monty Hall Problem. The fact that it confuses so many people is one thing. The paradox is how absolutely incredibly difficult it is to "teach" someone that the answer is correct. ...especially when in reality, the problem is elementary school mathematics. (Which isn't to say that I understood it without great struggle). My theory has always been that there is something deeply rooted in our minds that expects binary decisions and observations - fight, or flight, light or dark, hot or cold, etc. That is purely speculation, of course. In any event, the study of the "rectangle familiar" reminded me of this. Cheers, and thanks!!

Vor year
@ChainedMyth +2
@ChainedMyth

6:28 - focus on the pointish section end and watch it go round, if you stare hard enough you can see it rotate round fully, keep ur eye on that point and keep in mind it is going in a circle not back on itself so view it like that is definitely what's happening (worked for me anyway) its anticlockwise 12:10, focus on the longer side and watch it go round fully, keeping ur eye on that one spot and keep an open mind of ah yes it is continuously spinning clockwise

Vor 7 Monate
@princeozodinobi4471 +4
@princeozodinobi4471

I don't know if there's a prize or anything, but after one or two tries I was able to see the yrue movement of the Ames rectangle. First with the rubiks cube attached;second with the ruler attached; and finally on its own. I think it helps focusing on one point( in my case the short end) and mapping out its trajectory. So when it's turning around you expect that point to be at a certain place and look for that. And surely your brain sees it at that point as opposed to the illusion. It was really fun exerting my will over my brain. Haha

Vor year
@christopherwright7077 +3
@christopherwright7077

I can briefly break the illusion, but the lighting inevitably makes my brain trust the illusion more. Even getting this far required an enormous amount of mental thought to convince my subconscious that the shape is not doing the seemingly obvious. Very interesting!

Vor year
@perstouch40 +3153
@perstouch40

“My Brain prefers the illusion, rather than what’s actually happening”......if this isn’t 2020 in a nutshell lol

Vor 2 years
@patrickli3684 +12
@patrickli3684

At least we can say goodbye to 2020 tommorow

Vor 2 years
@zoosandvapes4183 +7
@zoosandvapes4183

@@physicschemistryandquantum810 So you’re the Indian guy from YouTube that our teachers show us?

Vor 2 years
@Zelmel +35
@Zelmel

Once learning exactly how it works, I can see the rotation if I really focus, but it takes real mental effort. Such an awesome illusion.

Vor 2 years
@young-stove +8
@young-stove

That’s the entirety of the human experience in a nutshell

Vor 2 years
@kaizokujimbei143
@kaizokujimbei143

@@Zelmel Yeah.

Vor 2 years
@gordalot +1
@gordalot

Keys to focus on a singular point on the rotation. I used to play with my grandparents ceiling before I was in school, that had sponge plaster applied to it with a smooth border. (I saw it by accident one day, and tried to see it on command.) It looked like a bit like mountain range. But if I presented the “sun” or the light in the centre of the room was actually by the wall. It would make the peaks turn into valleys, just by pretending that the shadow side was from a different light source. Also fun to “merge” floor tile lines on the vertical e together to make the floor pop out like a 3-D picture where you have to line up 2 points together.

Vor year
@sonicwaveinfinitymiddwelle8555 +1
@sonicwaveinfinitymiddwelle8555

Finally someone includes "Only Some People" in their title. I never saw this as an illusion and most of the illusions are broken for me. I feel like something is missing from me, something what everyone thinks is obvious and everyday life.

Vor 6 Monate
@bluegold6682 +3
@bluegold6682

The Curiosity Show was fantastic. Thanks Rob & Dean for your incredible work on the show.

Vor 10 Monate
@bennoakes2477
@bennoakes2477

makes this attempt look utterly lame

Vor 2 Monate
@100vg +4
@100vg

This one is very cool! After watching How it works, I can force myself to follow, say the Rubik's Cube, thinner side around and notice that when it's in the back, you can see the cardboard hide parts of and then when in front, appears to float around, but doing so makes my head spin for a good while. Somehow, forcibly canceling the optical illusion stresses my eyes and/or mind in the forehead. It's more like dizziness than a headache, but kind of both.

Vor year
@wallywest2360 +14
@wallywest2360

My mind definitely prefers the illusion, but I can consciously force it to see what's actually happening. It's a bit easier with the circular version. The large version that you built and put yourself in was obviously rotating to me, the illusion didn't work at all. And towards the end of video when you replayed the version with the Rubik's cube, I saw it as rotating. The two faces, at 9:50, was easy. If you know anything about 3D modeling and lighting it's obvious the mask that appears brighter is the one protruding outward. Which implies that you can use "book smarts" to literally change the way you see the world. As I understood better how the window illusion worked, it stopped working for me. And as you pointed out at the end, this applies to things beyond optical illusions. Every day we see people with the same set of data in front of them come to wildly different conclusions.

Vor year
@MofoMan2000 +3447
@MofoMan2000

What's even better is when you can consciously "switch" the illusion on and off in your mind. Or essentially see both perspectives at once.

Vor 2 years
@benjamin5370 +164
@benjamin5370

Thought I was the only one

Vor 2 years
@squirreljr1969 +32
@squirreljr1969

@@benjamin5370 same

Vor 2 years
@jimmyjones4588 +94
@jimmyjones4588

You feel the weird tingle in the front of your skull the first time or just me?

Vor 2 years
@Thoroughly_Wet +3
@Thoroughly_Wet

Ikr

Vor 2 years
@Orwaha +41
@Orwaha

I can do this with the blue and black dress. I turn it white and gold and back.

Vor 2 years
@thatwouldbeillogical +6
@thatwouldbeillogical

So I had an interesting effect with the illusion. It worked well for me when it was a ruler in the window, or the rubik's cube, but when he was in it himself, his arms, legs and head created too many points of reference for my mind to track, and the illusion totally broke down. Upon more thought it may also be possible that the reason the illusion breaks down for me when it is a person in the window and not a cube or a stick is because the person is asymmetrical. They have a head on one end and feet on the other. My mind could be using that information to correctly interpret the whole window as spinning. Another possibility is that humans and the general shape of them are something we see regularly and are very good at identifying. It could be simply that my brain knows what a human looks like and is able to track that spinning, and correctly interprets the window as spinning with him. Also when he showed the masks, the impression was obvious to me because it is darker. Less light goes into the impression so it will always appear darker than something that is sticking out.

Vor year
@TheJanstyler
@TheJanstyler

Its pretty hard, but I can switch between seeing it as an illusion and seeing it actually rotate. I'd guess that, for me, it has something to do with the fact that I can change all kinds of focus and what I call "perspectives" by focusing different ways. Just as I can change my "main eye" at will. Its pretty weird and really hard to explain the things I can change in my vision. The thing is, this is mostly a detriment, because, even though I can control many things in my vision, it takes incredible focus most of the time, and when I'm not focusing, my vision can just "switch" in a number of ways without me wanting it to. Thats why, even though I wear glasses, my eyesight in general is still very bad. One of the few upsides is however, that I can sort of "unfocus" my eyes. When I do that, I see much less detail, but I can easily spot changes in a far wider field of vision. An example for that would be "spot the difference" image. Unless the differences are very minute details, I can usually spot all changes withing a few seconds. The number of differences doesnt really matter. (up to a certain point of course) I've heard of others that can do the "unfocus" before though. The rest of my eye problems I've never heard anyone else have. (That doesnt mean nobody has those problems of course)

Vor 4 Monate
@tighoster
@tighoster

For whatever reason my perception flicked between the two. It didn't definitively switch at the 90 degree angles. It was like it was random. In one rotation it could switch between the two any where from 1-7/8 times. One moment it's normal and in the next instance my brain perceived the ruler as reality bending. I think it was as I ran my eyes along different parts of the window. I think the edge of the cutout made it seem like it was rotating while the actual windows made it appear in the position you see when it appears to oscilate. Which is weird cause the disparity between the two convinced me that in an instant the window would flip a 180 and appear backwards to my previous perception.

Vor year
@jenniferstine8567
@jenniferstine8567

I could only see rotation if I focused only on the top perimeter. It only worked for a few seconds. My eyesight is abnormal, and I think it might be why it was so brief. When I was planning on drawing a stage with a unique shape I had to use odd shapes to make it match the image on the monitor. I knew for a fact that it was made from rectangles, but it got distorted alot. Sometimes it even looked curved. It was very awkward to make, especially to a scale. Another example came from the TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000. In the "theater" it can look like Crow is facing you, but he's actually facing away from you at all times. I'm pretty sure it's because of the curved outline. When I had to do X, Y, Z graphing the line often looked like it was going the wrong direction. 😠 I hated it, and my math grade suffered. This is also why I enjoy large scale magician's tricks. A lot of it has to do with science and math.

Vor year
@Zebrart0
@Zebrart0

This is really cool - I can actually see the window move in the right way as it rotates if I focus on the base of the ruler. Before that my brain could not figure it out and the ruler appeared to go thru the window.

Vor 9 Monate
@garryheywood1 +1475
@garryheywood1

This has gotta be the most disturbing illusion I have ever seen, no matter how hard I try to beat it, it gets me every time.

Vor 2 years
@DrakyHRT +64
@DrakyHRT

What is most disturbing ? the fact that you're consciously trying to beat the illusion but you can't, or the fact that even if you try your hardest, your conscious self will never be able to outrule your inscouscious self ?.

Vor 2 years
@terbilal4781 +9
@terbilal4781

@@DrakyHRT true

Vor 2 years
@emerysancho7601 +1
@emerysancho7601

same

Vor 2 years
@quietobserver7326 +3
@quietobserver7326

I got it the first time, but now I cant get it

Vor 2 years
@DownWithHamas +9
@DownWithHamas

I was able to beat it after a little bit of focus.

Vor 2 years
@PittCougar +1
@PittCougar

That was fun. The more you showed the illusion, the easier it was for my brain to be able to switch between the two ways of seeing it (oscillating versus not)

Vor year
@Reoh0z +1
@Reoh0z

I selectively choose whether I see the illusion or what's real. If I concentrate on the trick I see it for what it is, but if I just lazily look in its direction I see the illusion. This works most of the time, but early on flickers back and forth which can be disconcerting. Fortunately the longer I focus, the easier it becomes to keep straight.

Vor 8 Monate
@anaghasmenon910 +3
@anaghasmenon910

When the trapezoid actually comes to view I perceive the smaller edge is somewhere in the back... with respect to the camera and the longer edge... and then it looks like it is oscillating. It took me all the energy at first to see the rotation but then I realized and told myself that when the trapezoid is seen in its full length, it is actually horizontal to my view and that is where the rotation begins... I started to clearly see the rotation.

Vor year
@argonile2344 +3
@argonile2344

Watching the illusion, I could only see it go back and forth constantly - the moment you put in the ruler it took me a moment but I finally started seeing it go around properly! Crazy cool optical illusion!

Vor year
@BraddahSpliff
@BraddahSpliff

I've actually had this optical illusion happen during certain loading screens on the game Fallout 4. They're loading screens with Vault Boy pins that are rotating. The pin is not even the same on both sides or rectangular, but it still can look like it's just going back & forth instead of rotating like it actually is.

Vor year
@besmart +22109
@besmart

Well I guess I can stop working on.… exactly the same video 😂🤦‍♂️

Vor 2 years
@Bert0ld0 +938
@Bert0ld0

lol, hopefully you'll get a lot of likes here

Vor 2 years
@LightningShiva1 +223
@LightningShiva1

Hey, how you doin

Vor 2 years
@abhijeetneti +983
@abhijeetneti

It's okay just cite this video, make sure you're using the Harvard referencing system

Vor 2 years
@peppermomint +229
@peppermomint

F

Vor 2 years
@itismethatguy +59
@itismethatguy

Lol

Vor 2 years
@eds1942
@eds1942

I was only able to see it when it was mostly face long. It’s a lot harder to tell with one eye, after you mentioned it. It was also hard to tell when I didn’t see the full rotation. And yeah, the shadows make broke the illusion faster.

Vor year
@joeflynn2243 +2
@joeflynn2243

Where were you back in the 60s (rhetorical)? I would have made it through high school without being bored if I had only one teacher like you! Now I'm just an old guy who really likes what you are doing and the philosophical wisdom you incorporate into your musings and teachings. Great fun for any brain!

Vor year
@picsmics4 +3
@picsmics4

I used to have a hard time breaking the illusion, but after years of visual arts training and practice, I'm much better at seeing through illusions in shape, motion and colors.

Vor 9 Monate
@fotwen
@fotwen

That's so cool. Even with the cube, the illusion holds. What allows you to break it is the slight curve at the top. Allows you to see which side is in the front. But some times, I can just see it rotating. Which is weird to me.

Vor 8 Monate
@Johny40Se7en
@Johny40Se7en

Loved this since seeing it on The Curiosity Show way back, heck of an effect. Also puts into perspective how our eyes and brains interpret things - no pun intended LOL 😅😝 That's only emphasised when you go through the window. Wickedly bizarre aye.

Vor 8 Tage
@ArkayForYT +726
@ArkayForYT

I love how this guy tricks us into gaining knowledge.

Vor 2 years
@NoOne-we5jh +5
@NoOne-we5jh

Friking legend

Vor 2 years
@graxo3752 +4
@graxo3752

You played yourself.

Vor 2 years
@NoOne-we5jh
@NoOne-we5jh

@@graxo3752 Congrats

Vor 2 years
@r.natari
@r.natari

Lol

Vor 2 years
@normanweishaar3720
@normanweishaar3720

@@NoOne-we5jh 1

Vor 2 years
@Cragified
@Cragified

What is even more trippy is that after forcing myself to think that they are spinning constantly the illusion 'broke' and then I had to try to see them as oscillating. And then I could switch back and forth at will by just thinking which way I wanted to see it.

Vor 8 Monate
@Traumatree
@Traumatree

I am able to see the rotation when I fix the bottom of the image and keep my eyes focus there. As soon as I leave that spot I was looking, the oscillation returns. Pretty amazing stuff!

Vor 9 Monate
@itsmee2484
@itsmee2484

Life is so much about perception! At the beginning, I was able to see the illusion, but as the video progressed, I was forcing myself to unsee the illusion and was able to see the full rotation of the piece. You just need to get hold of the perspective I guess!

Vor 7 Monate
@rpbajb +3
@rpbajb

I could only see oscilation until you put yourself through a window; then something 'clicked' in my head and I saw the rotation clearly. Amazing!

Vor year
@Notnameworthy
@Notnameworthy

I was having a hard time seeing the rotation there for a minute, but I found that when I just focused on the top corner of the larger portion of the window it became very clear

Vor year
@deborahsharrock9934 +1240
@deborahsharrock9934

When he was rotating in the window at first, I could only see him rotating and couldn’t figure out what the illusion was. As he explained that it appeared to oscillate, my perception automatically switched to that and now I can’t switch it back 🤯

Vor year
@RobertMcBride-is-cool +44
@RobertMcBride-is-cool

It is like me listening to the yanny/laurel thing too much and not being able to hear laurel even with pitch shifting.

Vor year
@UKLGEAS +17
@UKLGEAS

Same! As soon as he told me it oscillates, that's all I could see from then on

Vor year
@hayaalawadhi534 +5
@hayaalawadhi534

The opposite happened to me XD

Vor year
@laestrella9727 +1
@laestrella9727

That's the point though - the illusion makes it look like things are rotating 'through' the window so you saw what most people see.

Vor year
@tabitha2706 +1
@tabitha2706

For the majority of the video, I had the same issues. But the longer I watched it, the easier it became to see it correctly. This illusion is awesome

Vor year
@ellenfoster9764
@ellenfoster9764

I loved this video! I “caught” both the trapezoid and the tear drop rotation 1x each, but mostly saw oscillation. I still cannot figure out Aimes rooms.

Vor year
@trogo5858 +1
@trogo5858

😆 First I saw only the ROTATION and I've lived in a rectilinear world all my life. After a while, I could allow my brain to see the illusion, but still understand the reality. So I wondered what was going on - why did I NOT see it at first. (1) I've loved art & optical illusions, so I am familiar with the principles of how most work. I've seen forced perspective illusions before and drawn a few of them (2) I'd hope to believe that working in computers and logic can discipline a brain to critically think before forming a conclusion (this is obviously not always the case LOL!) (3) I changed my focal point from the center to the outer edge which enhanced my perception of the oscillation effect. So my initial focal point at the center dampened the effect. I may also had been unconsciously taking in the rotation of the wire holding the illusion. All these cobbled together to dampen it significantly - so the 20ft distance for a majority of acceptance of the illusion makes sense as that distance would minimize the truth. Now that is analogous to life too. Too far away from something - you see only your illusion. Too close and you become non-critical because it becomes you. - "Let your moderation be known" P.S. - The 'irony' joke was sublime sir! I hope you [Ar] to just sprinkle those in once in while. DJ xSUBn ({-_- })

Vor year
@BardhokNdoji
@BardhokNdoji

I did fall for it initially. But soon as you explained, I could easily see what was happening. The trick is to visualize the shape of it in your mind and follow it. Then it all makes sense.

Vor year
@apexwolf3659 +1
@apexwolf3659

That rotating trapezoid illusion is mind blowing . Although after watching that rotation 10 times , now I could sense that it's rotating and not oscillating but still it's need lot of focus to see rotation

Vor year
@halflucan +546
@halflucan

After staring at this for a while, I can see the rotation on the big wooden versions, but the paper ones still kill me

Vor 2 years
@spacenomad4477 +9
@spacenomad4477

I could see the rotation with the ruler after a few seconds

Vor 2 years
@Mehwhatevr +9
@Mehwhatevr

@@spacenomad4477 I can see the rotation with the ruler after a few seconds, but only up until the point where it is parallel to my line of sight. the moment I start to see the side of it again, it flips to where it would be if it were swaying. If I focus on the big side, I can watch it rotate around the front, but it flips when it gets to the back. If I focus on the small side, I can watch it rotate around the back but it flips when it gets to the front. I didn't have the same struggle with the round version.

Vor 2 years
@Ben-um3pe +3
@Ben-um3pe

I could see the paper one if you focus on the curve of the paper

Vor 2 years
@heritage3451 +2
@heritage3451

I had the same thing happen with me with most illusions I can just tell myself what going on or look at it long enough and it will stop happening but with the paper ones it just doesn't work for me and I can't see it rotate no matter what I do

Vor 2 years
@HT3D_Tech +2
@HT3D_Tech

If I really try to see it I can, but the ruler still stumps me

Vor 2 years
@davidtrepanier4211 +10
@davidtrepanier4211

It took me a bit to be able to see the rotation, but I was able to get there. Still easier to see the oscillation though. Also I could see which face was an impression, but I have really good depth perception. Enjoyed this video!

Vor year
@jamesdelius +1
@jamesdelius

Where can I get a 3D monitor like yours? 🙂

Vor year
@The.Pickle
@The.Pickle

I see both happening, depending on what I tell my self is happening, or if I'm concentrating on the edge moving towards the camera. I see the illusion if I relax my vision on the center and expect to see an "illusion" but the moment I acknowledge what is really happening it goes away.

Vor year
@kynanwilliams8012 +1
@kynanwilliams8012

My brain must have figured out what was really going on and it wasn't that interesting to watch, but then when I concentrated on letting the illusion work especially with the Rubik's cube, I was able to see what you were talking about, it was actually really cool to see it both ways

Vor year
@wilsonrawlin8547
@wilsonrawlin8547

Very cool experiment. The good thing was the more I watched the more I could see it rotate. I could easily see the egg shape. I think this is a good representation for why UFOs and other strange sightings happen with people.

Vor year
@Nightflavio
@Nightflavio

At the very start of the video, when you were talking about the sponsor I was distracted and not paying much attention, so I saw it spinning normally, no illusion. Then eventually I focused on watching the video and only then I started perceiving the illusion, and then the ruler and the cube killed it. I honestly think that if I wasn't searching for that, I might not have been "fooled" by it. I've found that difference in perception interesting, so I wanted to post it here.

Vor year
@Sciencerely +136
@Sciencerely

As a human biologist it's so amazing to think how our brains process their environments. We humans have specific neurons (called grid cells) which are active in hexagonal patterns as we move around. We also have specific neurons which tell us when a person is looking at us or somewhere else. And in a quite funny experiment it was also shown that specific neurons are highly active when they hear the voice of Homer Simpson (would love to make a video about that myself). The fact that our brains fall for optical illusions just adds to their awesomeness!

Vor 2 years
@zaptolite2719 +24
@zaptolite2719

Hexagons are the bestagons

Vor 2 years
@feynstein1004 +2
@feynstein1004

Hexagons are bestagons confirmed

Vor 2 years
@howardbaxter2514 +2
@howardbaxter2514

You should

Vor 2 years
@sachiel197
@sachiel197

@@zaptolite2719 indeed

Vor 2 years
@sachiel197 +2
@sachiel197

Excuse me what? Homer? Also nice to see you here

Vor 2 years
@spidunno
@spidunno

at first I could only see it oscillating but with a bit of practice and looking at it frame by frame I can now switch between seeing it rotating and oscillating pretty easily

Vor year
@done.8373 +1
@done.8373

Neat thing is that on the circular illusion I can force myself to see the rotation and switch back and forth. But with the rectangular one, no matter how hard I try I cannot fix it to rotation vs oscillation.

Vor year
@s.fleming2441
@s.fleming2441

When using the ruler it forced my brain to see the illusion correctly. It has to do with the way its tappered. I think that is the window moving into distance. And expect it to get larger as it comes towards me. But because the tapper is actually more from the deliberate shape of the window and not as much because it's moving into distance, then the illusion really breaks down after I realize it will be the small end of the tappered shape that I see.

Vor year
@samarkhan24 +1
@samarkhan24

Well, I still remember that in my childhood there used to be a painting of Monalisa at my home which my grandfather had bought a long time back when I was born. I used to see that painting and when I look at her eyes I used to feel as if can continue following the direction of my movement wherever I move around. If I go on far right it starts following a weird stare at me or the same on the left side as well. I think this is what this illusion is meant about.

Vor year
@vmb371 +1
@vmb371

I managed break the illusion. You have to stare at the top right corner and focus only on the white color and not the blue one. What creates the illusion are the colors, not only the shape. Focus on the white color, and stare at the top right corner. Then, halfway into the rotation, you'll start to see the back of the top right corner, which now will be on the other side once it "flips". The top right corner becomes the top left back of the corner.

Vor Monat
@fiddley +744
@fiddley

Ruler: Seamlessly slides through matter, which is impossible My Brain: I'm ok with this

Vor 2 years
@SplendidFellow +2
@SplendidFellow

Not necessarily impossible

Vor 2 years
@Icemario87 +18
@Icemario87

@@Scribe13013 Hey bro, this is not how you advertise your music. Try another tactic.

Vor 2 years
@pelegitay +4
@pelegitay

I'll be laughing quite a while at that remark. thanks!

Vor 2 years
@avedic +10
@avedic

I like how your brain is forced to chose one of two impossibilities.... Either this window _isn't_ perfectly rectangular.....OR.....solid objects _can move indiscriminately through other solid objects._ And everyone's brain goes with option #2. I guess our brains just cannot FATHOM a window not being perfectly constructed. Why, that would be impossible. Objects travelling through each other though? Sure, why not....there's a first time for everything. Way to go brain.

Vor 2 years
@maxine4579 +1
@maxine4579

If you stare at one edge (especially the one with the object on it), and memorize the direction it’s spinning, AND actively consciously make the effort to see it spinning, you can, with difficulty, force your brain to see it rotating

Vor 6 Monate
@brandonlykins2419 +1
@brandonlykins2419

its a great illusion for sure. i really wish you could have a continuous shot of it rotating, then moving the camera to a different angle to see whats really going on.

Vor 6 Monate
@madworld7989
@madworld7989

If you focus on the shaded area on the small side as it’s farthest away, then shift focus to light white as it gets closer, you can see the rotation pretty clearly.

Vor year
@ShikiKhorinthian
@ShikiKhorinthian

If I wasn't told that this was an illusion I wouldn't have noticed. It takes some effort, yes, but as some people have pointed out already it's possible to convince your brain otherwise, though at least for me it's quite difficult to do Love the video!

Vor year
@jenaauerstedt7650
@jenaauerstedt7650

Derek's final comment -- about having humility in areas outside the world of science -- reminded me of the episode "Knowledge or Certainty" from Jacob Bronowski's masterful series "The Ascent of Man." Bronowski criticized those who believe that they had "absolute truth," a priori -- and that that certainty can lead people to commit atrocities because of their belief that they already have everything figured out.

Vor 11 Monate
@Rhythmmical +509
@Rhythmmical

When you and the ruler were in the window, I could see it rotating better, and I learned how it moved. Only then was I able to see it how it actually moved without any objects on it. Also, the knowledge that the smaller side is closer helps. You can kind of start to imagine what it would look like, and that makes it easier to see in reality. Also, I can only really see the small side passing by me when it's perpendicular, but now it's pretty easy to see it fully rotating.

Vor 2 years
@SgtTonka +11
@SgtTonka

i have to think that the smaller side is closer and just then for a second you see it spinning just like you. i broke when the rubix cube happened

Vor year
@paerarru +15
@paerarru

Yes, once you understand the process well you can train your brain to perceive what's really happening. But it does take training because otherwise your previous conditioning wants to simplify it for your brain.

Vor year
@MichaelWilliams-rf2jw +3
@MichaelWilliams-rf2jw

So just when you train your brain to see what's really happening with this trick setup, next this guy will switch the whole setup and put a real trapezoid there that is just oscillating, and you'll see it as rotating! haha How can you be sure what's real?

Vor year
@paerarru +2
@paerarru

@@MichaelWilliams-rf2jw That's true, one can't ever be 100% absolutely CERTAIN of one's knowledge. But the more one knows the more possibilities one is aware of. Nobody ever said human beings have PERFECT knowledge.

Vor year
@sueouzounis9439
@sueouzounis9439

Could sometines see it come out at the back

Vor year
@asarand
@asarand

What's funny is, as I was watching you do that, I could tell that it was rotating, and at the same time I could tell that it looked like it was swiveling. I don't know how to explain it. I have a bad left eye that I don't really see much out of, so most of my vision is through my right eye. Maybe that has something to do with it. But it's really strange seeing it rotate and swivel at the same time.

Vor year
@mrtheminecraftminer1 +1
@mrtheminecraftminer1

Fun fact if you have any understanding of these optical illusions beforehand, even though your brain wants to see it, you can stare at the small edge, and force your brain into complying by tracing the outline as it moves past. Or at the very least, it is possible, if only not for every single person

Vor 10 Monate
@poja82 +1
@poja82

This was awesome. You whent much further into the depths of the meaning beyond science. Kudos.

Vor year
@J_A
@J_A

I can see both. At first I could only see the illusion, but after sometime I was also able to see it rotating.

Vor year
@w4stezed
@w4stezed

I realized that the sides, even though it’s plastered on the same, it is inverted on the Y axis, so when you see it flip to one side the other side will mirror it instead of appear the same. Because of this I think that a perfectly even square can’t work because both sides are the exact same. Thought I do agree that trapezoids are doing something in this illusion.

Vor year
@michaellooks8397 +771
@michaellooks8397

This is the first optical illusion that I've been entirely unable to see normally, my mind is fooled each time. What the heck.

Vor 2 years
@Obi117kh +41
@Obi117kh

Same here. I’m finally defeated by an illusion.

Vor 2 years
@minderbinderful +7
@minderbinderful

same - watch the shadows

Vor 2 years
@TheFriendlyInvader +31
@TheFriendlyInvader

Check a far edge, keep an intuitive sense of rotation and understand geometrically what this object is doing, proceed to track that edge visually (follow with your eyes) along it's intended path. The illusion will quickly fall apart and you'll be able to pick apart which edge is nearest to you

Vor 2 years
@hanleyk +38
@hanleyk

I can see it only if I'm on a table that's slanted at 33° (head down), tilted at 11° toward an old black and white CRT screen, moving on a dolly, in a counterclockwise circular fashion around said TV at 2.5 mph, while eating Honey nut Cheerios, at sunset.

Vor 2 years
@ausgaze436 +1
@ausgaze436

@@hanleyk lol

Vor 2 years
@losvi6425
@losvi6425

very neat but i can see the spinning (3d?) pretty well. interesting that people have such different perceptions. i wonder if studying art and really conceptualizing depth helps me see past these kinds of things

Vor year
@zzzut
@zzzut

One of my favourite optical illusions. That guy who thought about it is brilliant.

Vor year
@UnintelligibleYT
@UnintelligibleYT

I usually dislike being fooled, including by illusions, but this one makes me smile for some reason.

Vor year
@Creper_
@Creper_

This is super interesting to me, as I only have one working eye, and I can choose to see either an oscillating or rotating image, or both at once. Maybe it’s because I’m used to my perspective?

Vor year
@calebbrown6735
@calebbrown6735

I've been seeing these kinds of illusions all over for a long time. I can make sense of ones I see in real life but on a 2d screen like my phone and YouTube it becomes increasingly more difficult

Vor year
@PlasmaHH +231
@PlasmaHH

When I looked at it long enough, eventually at the point where it "reverses" oscillation I could start seeing that it doesn't. Concentrating on it, this moment extended to almost the full revolution. The illusion was broken for like, the whole day. Next day, it was there again, and I had the same trouble forcing me to see it differently... weird... almost like this red and green pattern that changes your brainwaves for months...

Vor 2 years
@Sodium_Slug +12
@Sodium_Slug

The funny thing is that even if you see through the illusion you see the window "slowing down" thought it's spinning at a constant speed

Vor 2 years
@ashleytylercoghlan8440 +2
@ashleytylercoghlan8440

I found the rounded window significantly reduced the illusion for both windows for me.

Vor 2 years
@crakkajac7856
@crakkajac7856

I dont understand what illusion people are seeing? I dont see it, just him hanging there and spinning.

Vor 2 years
@Whimsical_Inquiror
@Whimsical_Inquiror

"red and green pattern that changes your brainwaves" Where is this illusion, what's its name?

Vor 2 years
@theconnectedchris305
@theconnectedchris305

its in the modulated waves of cellular technology man. Theres no hiding from them now. they gotcha man.... they gotyou

Vor 2 years
@christopherlitzner8445
@christopherlitzner8445

one very interesting thing is i have never actually had any depth perception so i see it oscillating because i can only look out of one eye at a time. i am left eye dominate and when watching it with that eye it does oscillate but when i switch over to my non dominant eye i can just barely perceive the actual rotation

Vor Monat
@cfehunter
@cfehunter

It's wild. At the start of this video I couldn't unsee the illusion no matter how hard I tried, but by about six minutes in I started seeing it rotating. Then the "circle" immediately got me...

Vor 8 Monate
@dragonblade2375
@dragonblade2375

You can actually try and focus on the top diagonal and see if you can visualise it spinning around so that the blue lines dont confuse you. It helps for me.

Vor year
@ludicrous7044
@ludicrous7044

I've been fascinated with optical allusions for 70 years but this is the best one!!

Vor 7 Monate
@shaggybreeks
@shaggybreeks

I've seen a fairly large window up close on several occasions, and it seems like sometimes, I can only see the illusion, and other times, I am flat out unable to see the illusion. In this video, I can only see the illusion. I have heard that there is a connection between schizophrenia and the perception of optical illusions, that schizophrenics are less able or likely to see an illusion.

Vor year
@TheNightFalxon +366
@TheNightFalxon

The ruler part is so weird, it phases through the window but in such a weird way, like it’s not actually clipping through, *this is so wild and infuriating at the same time*

Vor 2 years
@uni5396. +7
@uni5396.

its just like **fart sound effect**

Vor 2 years
@omarcapaso7156 +7
@omarcapaso7156

@@uni5396. *reverb fart sound effect*

Vor 2 years
@tgypoi +6
@tgypoi

I've watched and rewatched so many times trying to see the rotation, but every time I fall for the illusion.

Vor 2 years
@slicedtoad +2
@slicedtoad

Usually, you have to kind of play along with an illusion to get the full effect. This is the opposite, it doesn't go away even when what's happening is blatantly impossible; it gets worse instead. It's also the only illusion that's ever managed to make me feel strong emotions. Specifically frustration and a desire to yell at reality.

Vor 2 years
@andyh7152
@andyh7152

Need to watch this again when high. Awesome video but a little surprised you didn't mention the rotating face illusion. Most of what our senses take in is based on our internal construct of the world around us. More people need to understand this.

Vor year
@ChristopherGuilday
@ChristopherGuilday

I can see both of them by literally telling my brain what is happening, but if I’m not in active thought that it is indeed rotating (And here’s why) then my subconscious takes over and it just oscillates. If I focus on the ends and kind of “Un-focus” my vision I can also see it spinning.

Vor year
@steelfoot98
@steelfoot98

It’s incredible how hard I have to focus to be able to break the illusion, even when my conscious mind knows what’s happening.

Vor Monat
@vsGoliath96
@vsGoliath96

Okay, I think I figured out how to perceive it properly! I kept my eye on the top corner of the long side. If you do that, while it still looks funky, I was at least able to see the short end traverse in a noticeable way.

Vor year
@epifan3_ +1
@epifan3_

The way I was actually able to see the card rotate 360 was by watching the stick that's attatched directly in the middle of the card at the bottom. It helped me follow the corners of the card accurately!

Vor year
@misskay6831 +1
@misskay6831

Thanks!

Vor year
@Arman-tx6fn +135
@Arman-tx6fn

It's so cool how you can condition yourself to see it in different ways.

Vor 2 years
@malfattio2894 +6
@malfattio2894

Yeah, it reminds me of those Laurel and Green Needle audio clips

Vor 2 years
@MultiFabar
@MultiFabar

It’s like the drawing where you can either see a duck or a horse. Some writer said that, that was real magic. A person might only see a horse until they’re told that there is also a duck in the image and once told how to notice/see the duck, the duck drawing “magically” appears in ones mind/perception.

Vor 2 years
@MarkBowenPiano
@MarkBowenPiano

I love this illusion though if you concentrate your eye near the top of the shape you can force your brain to see what is really happening especially with the second teardrop shape. Absolutely amazing that this happens though.

Vor 6 Monate
@f.d.3289
@f.d.3289

Wow :) That was actually fascinating and interesting and I really like your philosophical conclusion at the end.

Vor year
@mark2020
@mark2020

I lost my left eye about 18 months ago and now am attempting to coach my daughters volleyball team. It's super hard for the girls to understand that I am sometimes struggling to see which side of the net the ball has fallen to. Furthermore I had run an industrial repair company for 30 years. After the accident I was only able to effectively repair items that I had previously repaired prior to the accident. Newer items that I had never seen previously all looked like flat nickels. It has been so hard for me to understand the thinking of the engineer without being able to see the depth. This also is so hard to explain. Now after seeing this video, I can see why I'm struggling. Super helpful really!! Great job as always.

Vor year

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