BRAIN DRAIN
Genius professor creates ‘magic’ optical illusion toy that ‘leaves your brain scrambled’ – can you work it out?
A MIND-BLOWING optical illusion game has been created by a genius professor using simple pieces of acrylic.
Professor Kokichi Sugihara from Meiji University in Japan has carefully cut objects that look entirely different when viewed in a mirror or from different angles.
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Sugihara is both a mathematician and an artist who has created lots of award winning optical illusion toys before.
One of his new objects resembles a four pointed star from one angle but also four small circles joined together when twisted at a 180 degree angle or viewed in a mirror.
When the toy is picked up and observed you can see all the contours and carvings of the object, which make it look completely different from different angles.
Height differences can give the illusion of rounded edges, as seen in one of Sugihara's simpler toys that looks like an arrow that always points to the right no matter which way you turn it.
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His clover and heart illusion is perhaps the most complex of his designs.
From the side the objects look exactly the same but they have been carved to miraculously change to look like a heart on one face and a clover on the other in an instant.
Sugihara achieved this by playing on the minds ability to see straight lines when none are present so he could hide the intricate carvings on each object in plain sight.
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The science behind optical illusions
This brief explanation may help to unscramble your brain...
- Optical illusions make a little bit more sense when you learn that our eyes have very little to do with what we see and it is our brains that play the key role in creating images and trying to protect us from the potential threats around us
- Our brain is constantly trying to make sense of the world at the quickest pace it can despite the world being in 3D and the images on our retinas being in 2D
- It can be really difficult for your brain to interpret everything at once so it will often take shortcuts and give you a simplified version of what you see so you can have quicker reaction times if the object you're looking at looks dangerous
- When you look at an object what you're really seeing is the light that bounced off of it and entered your eye, which is converted into electrical impulses that your brain then turns into an image
- Our brains can warp straight lines if an object in the middle of them looks like it's drawing closer as it wants to emphasize the potential threat
- Different colours and light and dark can make the same sized objects look different or make patterned images look like they're spinning
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And, an ultra-rare Roman coin minted by a ‘rogue emperor’ to aid his rebellion and create breakaway empire has been found during A14 roadworks.
Did you work out how the optical illusion works? Let us know in the comments...
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