Optical Illusions: How Brain, Eyes, Perception Work
This podcast delves into optical illusions, which are fascinating phenomena where the brain incorrectly interprets what the eyes are seeing. These illusions work because the brain utilizes shortcuts when processing visual information, forming opinions based on clues such as colors, shadows, and perspectives. The constant processing of visual input by the eyes and the brain's subsequent interpretation can be an exhausting process.
The overview details three primary types of optical illusions:
- Literal optical illusions are often created by combining multiple images, where individual components are clear, but their collective arrangement leads to a different overall perception through the "filling-in phenomena".
- Physiological illusions cause a person to perceive parts of an image that are not actually present. These frequently involve repeating patterns that overload the visual system, as seen in the Hermann Grid Illusion.
- Cognitive illusions leverage a person's assumptions about the world, defying traditional thinking and appearing to break established rules of physical items, without relying on specific biological mechanisms.
The explanation includes how rapid, involuntary eye movements can contribute to an illusion, causing a "ghost image" or moiré effect that makes static images appear to move. Neuroscience researchers utilize optical illusions as a tool to study how the human brain interprets the vast amount of information quickly received from the eyes. The concept of sensory organs deceiving us can be traced back to Greek philosophers like Plato. Rather than indicating a malfunction, these illusions highlight the remarkable adaptations of our visual system to standard viewing conditions, which can result in unexpected perceptions when confronted with unusual contexts.
0.000000 4.480000 Welcome to Everyday Explained, your daily 20-minute dive into the fascinating house and
4.480000 6.280000 wise of the world around you.
6.280000 10.220000 I'm your host, Chris, and I'm excited to help you discover something new.
10.220000 11.220000 Let's get started.
11.220000 16.060000 Okay, so, ever scrolled past an image online, maybe a Jeff, but wait, it's not a gift and
16.060000 21.040000 it just wouldn't stop moving, or maybe you've like seen a really clear, smiling face staring
21.040000 23.360000 back at you from your morning toast.
23.360000 25.360000 Which let's be honest, is it a bit weird?
25.360000 28.920000 If you have, well, you're definitely not alone, and what you're experiencing, it isn't
28.920000 31.640000 really your eyes playing tricks on you, not in a bad way anyway.
31.640000 37.080000 It's actually your amazing brain taking some, you know, some very clever shortcuts.
37.080000 39.200000 Welcome to The Deep Dive.
39.200000 44.160000 Today we're diving headfirst into the really, really fascinating world of optical illusions.
44.160000 48.640000 Our mission for this deep dive is to unpack how these illusions actually work, you know,
48.640000 52.200000 why our brains fall for them, and maybe most importantly, what they tell us about our
52.200000 57.200000 own perception, about all those incredible subconscious things happening in your head
57.200000 58.200000 every single second.
58.200000 62.800000 And we've pulled together some really captivating articles and some pretty detailed research notes
62.800000 65.520000 to guide us through this whole mind bending journey.
65.520000 66.840000 So yeah, let's get into it.
66.840000 67.840000 It's so true.
67.840000 74.560000 I mean, people have been fascinated by optical illusions for, well, forever, basically centuries.
74.560000 77.760000 That feeling you get that mind blown moment when it seems like your eyes are tricking, you
77.760000 82.080000 seeing something that isn't quite there, it's universal, but like you said, it's not really
82.080000 84.840000 a flaw in our system far from it, actually.
84.840000 87.240000 That really flips the script, doesn't it?
87.240000 91.720000 Because at first it feels almost like, I don't know, magic, or like, whoa, my eyes betrayed
91.720000 92.720000 me.
92.720000 96.600000 But when you start digging into the science behind it, you realize it's actually a kind of
96.600000 99.060000 testament to how brilliant our brains are.
99.060000 103.640000 We learn that optical illusions happen because our brain, which is working all the time, probably
103.640000 107.440000 needs a bit of a break, you know, from this absolute flood of visual information it's
107.440000 109.000000 constantly getting.
109.000000 114.480000 So to cope, it comes up with these incredibly efficient shortcuts, just to process everything
114.480000 115.480000 faster.
115.480000 116.480000 That's exactly right.
116.480000 120.560000 I mean, just try to imagine the sheer volume of data constantly streaming into your eyes.
120.560000 122.040000 It's enormous.
122.040000 126.960000 So to make sense of it all quickly, efficiently, the brain relies on clues.
126.960000 132.800000 Things like colors, shadows, perspective, it uses these little clues to form an opinion
132.800000 137.080000 you could say about what it's seeing, almost like a detective piecing things together really
137.080000 138.080000 fast.
138.080000 139.080000 Huh.
139.080000 142.680000 So it sounds like our brains are just trying to be efficient, but maybe sometimes they
142.680000 144.840000 get a little too efficient, is that it?
144.840000 148.840000 And then when those clues are maybe deliberately arranged, like in an illusion, that's when our
148.840000 151.320000 brains end up a bit full, confused.
151.320000 155.360000 We see this with things like those faint dots you sometimes see in the hermengrid illusion,
155.360000 159.480000 or when we see faces in clouds, that thing called peridolia, can you break down how these
159.480000 164.520000 brain shortcuts lead to those specific kinds of, well, perceptual tricks?
164.520000 165.520000 Absolutely.
165.520000 169.840000 Let's take the hermengrid, for example, you know, where you see those faint gray or maybe
169.840000 174.560000 even black dots where the white lines cross, even though objectively they aren't there.
174.560000 177.720000 This happens because of a process called lateral inhibition.
177.720000 182.000000 But simply, your brain actually exaggerates the contrast it sees at edges.
182.000000 185.680000 So the strong white signal coming from that intersection, it inhibits the surrounding
185.680000 189.480000 gray areas more intensely, making the center seem a bit darker than it is, is your visual
189.480000 193.760000 system trying to sharpen outlines essentially, but sometimes it just overdoes it.
193.760000 194.760000 And bam, bam dots.
194.760000 198.600000 And then there's peridolia, which is just fascinating, isn't it?
198.600000 203.560000 Many familiar patterns often faces, and totally random things, like, yeah, a dog in a cloud,
203.560000 204.560000 or a face on your toes.
204.560000 208.560000 This isn't so much your eyes playing tricks as it is your brain actively trying to find meaning,
208.560000 209.560000 trying to match patterns.
209.560000 212.720000 Even when there's no real pattern there, just ambiguous visual data.
212.720000 217.280000 It really speaks to our, you know, innate drive to recognize things, especially faces.
217.280000 218.280000 Right.
218.280000 220.520000 So it's like, my brain is going, hey, I know what a face looks like.
220.520000 225.600000 So I'm going to find one here, even if it's just, you know, burnt bread, huh?
225.600000 229.440000 And then there's troxler's effect, where if you stare really hard at one spot, things in
229.440000 233.320000 your peripheral vision, if they aren't changing, can just fade away.
233.320000 237.720000 Your brain basically stops seeing stuff that isn't providing your information.
237.720000 240.160000 It prioritizes what's new or changing.
240.160000 243.880000 It's wild how quickly your brain just decides what's important and what's not.
243.880000 248.160000 And that moving static image, you've mentioned at the start, the one that looks like an animation,
248.160000 249.160000 but isn't.
249.160000 251.120000 That is a perfect example of these shortcuts in action.
251.120000 255.560000 The image itself completely still, but the perception of movement, that's created
255.560000 261.600000 by the tiny rapid, involuntary movements of our eyes, microsecades, they're called.
261.600000 263.720000 These tiny little adjustments are happening constantly.
263.720000 267.000000 We're mostly unaware of them, but they have a huge impact on what we perceive.
267.000000 268.000000 Well, okay.
268.000000 269.000000 So it's not just in my head.
269.000000 272.040000 It's literally my eyes darting around without me even telling them to.
272.040000 273.040000 Yeah.
273.040000 278.000000 It's kind of cool, actually, but how do those tiny movements actually create such a convincing
278.000000 279.000000 illusion?
279.000000 280.760000 Like, how does it look like it's moving?
280.760000 281.760000 Yeah.
281.760000 282.760000 It's a great question.
282.760000 284.240000 It's really fascinating stuff.
284.240000 290.040000 One leading theory is that these rapid eye movements cause you to sort of see an after
290.040000 293.280000 image, one that's stored briefly in your retina.
293.280000 297.320000 And this after image overlaps with the brand new image your eyes are constantly taking in
297.320000 298.320000 as they move.
298.320000 302.760000 Think of it like a ghost image merging with the fresh visual input.
302.760000 303.760000 A ghost image.
303.760000 304.760000 Okay.
304.760000 305.720000 That sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie.
305.720000 310.240000 My brain is literally seeing things that aren't there, like a tiny visual hallucination.
310.240000 311.480000 That's incredible.
311.480000 314.560000 And how does that ghost image make it look like it's moving?
314.560000 319.640000 Well, when these similar patterns from the ghost image and the new input overlap, they
319.640000 321.120000 interfere with each other.
321.120000 324.080000 This interference creates something called the moray effect.
324.080000 328.080000 Have you ever looked through two fine mesh screens that are slightly misaligned?
328.080000 329.080000 Oh, yeah.
329.080000 332.560000 You see those weird, wavy, bigger patterns that aren't really on either screen?
332.560000 333.560000 Exactly.
333.560000 334.600000 That's the moray effect.
334.600000 339.200000 That interference fundamentally changes your visual perception, making that static image
339.200000 342.960000 appear to ripple or shimmer or sort of crawl.
342.960000 348.640000 What's so amazing here is how something incredibly subtle, like tiny involuntary eye movements,
348.640000 351.360000 can completely alter how we perceive reality.
351.360000 355.040000 It really shows how actively our brain constructs what we see.
355.040000 356.040000 Wow.
356.040000 360.800000 And the good news is, right, if that particular illusion is like driving you nuts, you can
360.800000 364.600000 usually stop it just by staring really hard at one single spot.
364.600000 365.600000 That's off in the case.
365.600000 370.460000 Fixing your gaze reduces those involuntary movements relative to the pattern or at least
370.460000 374.600000 stabilizes the input enough that the brain gets consistent information.
374.600000 376.000000 It settles down the interference.
376.000000 377.000000 Oh, okay.
377.000000 380.800000 I'm definitely trying that stare intensely trick next time one of those images pops up.
380.800000 385.520000 It really highlights how our brain is constantly trying to make sense of everything and sometimes
385.520000 387.600000 yeah, it needs a little help to get it right.
387.600000 390.880000 It's that whole process of trying to get it right that actually opens the door for our
390.880000 394.160000 brains to be conned as you put it in these different ways, right?
394.160000 395.160000 Precisely.
395.160000 398.080000 And that brings us neatly to understand the different categories.
398.080000 402.520000 Generally speaking, optical illusions tend to fall into three main types.
402.520000 406.960000 Each one shows a slightly different way our visual system can be well influenced.
406.960000 407.960000 All right.
407.960000 410.160000 Let's break down these visual con jobs.
410.160000 412.360000 These ways our brains get tricked.
412.360000 414.880000 First up, you said are literal optical illusions.
414.880000 415.880000 Okay.
415.880000 420.160000 So these are made by combining multiple images into one and our brain basically gets to choose
420.160000 422.880000 which bits to focus on, that filling in thing.
422.880000 425.640000 But depending on where you look, you see different layers of the picture.
425.640000 426.640000 Exactly.
426.640000 431.840000 A really fantastic, classic example is DeSepi Archamboldo's painting Earth from the 16th century.
431.840000 432.840000 It's brilliant.
432.840000 436.080000 When you first glance at it, you probably see an old man's face, right?
436.080000 437.280000 Quite detailed.
437.280000 440.560000 But then if you shift your focus, look closer at the components.
440.560000 445.440000 Suddenly, you realize that face is actually made up entirely of individual animals and plants.
445.440000 450.720000 The artwork literally holds two distinct images in one space and your brain just flips between
450.720000 453.000000 interpreting the whole or the parts.
453.000000 454.000000 Huh.
454.000000 459.000000 So it's like our brain decides which movie it wants to play depending on where we sort of
459.000000 460.000000 click with our eyes.
460.000000 462.120000 A visual, choose your own adventure.
462.120000 463.120000 That's pretty cool.
463.120000 467.000000 Then the second type, physiological illusions.
467.000000 470.360000 Now these are the ones that often cause us to see things that aren't actually physically
470.360000 472.000000 present at all.
472.000000 478.000000 They frequently involve things like repeating patterns, bright lights, or strong contrasts.
478.000000 480.680000 These can kind of overload the visual system.
480.680000 485.060000 They tend to activate the same neural pathways over and over, regardless of exactly where
485.060000 486.680000 your eyes are focused.
486.680000 490.640000 And this consistent, maybe excessive activation creates the illusion.
490.640000 491.640000 Oh, okay.
491.640000 493.240000 Like the Herman grid we talked about before.
493.240000 496.280000 With the phantom black dots at the intersection, so that makes sense.
496.280000 497.280000 The repeating grid pattern.
497.280000 499.800000 Yes, that's a perfect physiological illusion.
499.800000 504.760000 It exploits how our visual system process is contrast, like we discuss with lateral inhibition.
504.760000 509.400000 Or what about the cafe wall illusion, where the lines look totally slanted and wavy, but
509.400000 511.480000 they're actually perfectly straight and parallel.
511.480000 512.480000 That's another pattern.
512.480000 513.480000 One, isn't it?
513.480000 514.480000 That's another great example.
514.480000 515.480000 Yes.
515.480000 520.880000 The specific arrangement of the contrasting tiles tricks the brain's edge detection mechanisms.
520.880000 524.960000 If we step back and look at the bigger picture here, these physiological illusions really show
524.960000 530.120000 us the limits, or maybe the quirks, of our visual processing when it's hit with overwhelming
530.120000 532.560000 or highly repetitive stimuli.
532.560000 537.440000 Our system tries to simplify or predict, and in these very specific unusual cases, that
537.440000 539.760000 efficiency leads to a false perception.
539.760000 543.320000 The repeating patterns just keep hitting the same buttons in our visual cortex, leading
543.320000 548.320000 to the sort of sensory, maybe that overload, but unusual activation pattern that we perceive
548.320000 549.720000 as dots or movement.
549.720000 551.200000 It reveals the hard-wired rules.
551.200000 552.200000 Okay.
552.200000 553.200000 Got it.
553.200000 554.200000 Literal and physiological.
554.200000 555.200000 What's their type, then?
555.200000 557.240000 The third major category is cognitive illusions.
557.240000 561.520000 And these are fascinating because they don't really rely on the biological mechanisms of
561.520000 564.200000 the eye or brain pathways in the same way.
564.200000 567.240000 Instead, they use our assumptions about the world.
567.240000 569.480000 To learn and knowledge our expectations.
569.480000 571.360000 They use that against us, so to speak.
571.360000 575.360000 They create images that seem to just break the rules.
575.360000 578.800000 The rules we've learned so consciously about physical objects and how they should behave
578.800000 579.800000 in space.
579.800000 580.800000 Ah, okay.
580.800000 583.640000 So these mess with our heads more than our eyes, kind of.
583.640000 584.960000 In a sense, yes.
584.960000 589.000000 They play on our expectations and our internal models of reality.
589.000000 591.280000 Think about Oscar Reuters' various penrose triangle.
591.280000 592.640000 Oh, the impossible triangle.
592.640000 593.640000 Yeah.
593.640000 594.640000 That thing hurts my brain.
594.640000 595.640000 Exactly.
595.640000 596.640000 It looks like a 3D object.
596.640000 598.680000 It can't exist.
598.680000 602.880000 If you try to trace any one side, it leads you in this impossible loop.
602.880000 606.680000 It defies the rules of three-dimensional space that our brain just knows.
606.680000 608.640000 Or, think about the monster illusion.
608.640000 613.960000 You often see two identical monster figures in a drawing with perspective lines.
613.960000 614.960000 Like a tunnel.
614.960000 615.960000 Right.
615.960000 618.200000 And one looks way bigger than the other even though they're exactly the same size on the
618.200000 619.200000 page.
619.200000 620.200000 Precisely.
620.200000 623.480000 Your brain automatically applies rules of perspective.
623.480000 628.320000 It assumes the one further down the tunnel must be larger to project the same size image
628.320000 629.360000 on your retina.
629.360000 632.840000 It's using depth cues based on a lifetime of experience.
632.840000 637.320000 So basically, our brains are just so used to how things should work, how perspective should
637.320000 642.520000 look, that they get totally bamboozled when those rules are bent or presented in an impossible
642.520000 643.520000 way.
643.520000 646.520000 It's like telling your brain, "Hey, this is how gravity works," and then showing it something
646.520000 647.520000 just floating away.
647.520000 648.520000 Your brain's like, "Hang on.
648.520000 649.520000 Wait.
649.520000 650.520000 What?"
650.520000 651.520000 That doesn't compute.
651.520000 656.680000 These cognitive illusions really drive home how much of what we see is actually our brains
656.680000 660.640000 interpretation, right, based on everything we've learned, not just raw data coming in.
660.640000 663.520000 It's a clever trick that relies entirely on our own thinking.
663.520000 667.560000 And that's why optical illusions are so much more than just, you know, entertaining puzzles
667.560000 669.920000 or brain games you find online.
669.920000 671.920000 Neuroscientists actually use them.
671.920000 676.880000 They're powerful tools for studying the human brain, for understanding how we interpret
676.880000 678.480000 visual information.
678.480000 682.800000 They offer this really unique window into our neural processes, showing us how the brain
682.800000 685.920000 handles ambiguity, shortcuts and predictions.
685.920000 686.920000 It's pretty incredible.
686.920000 691.680000 When you think about just how fast our eyes take in information, what was it like, 13 milliseconds
691.680000 696.440000 to process an image that's insanely fast, and even after that first seeing, the brain
696.440000 700.360000 is still working away, processing subconsciously, constantly telling your eyes, "Okay, look
700.360000 701.360000 over there now.
701.360000 702.360000 Now look at this."
702.360000 703.440000 Sounds exhausting, right?
703.440000 708.200000 Even for, as one source charmingly put it, the king of your central nervous system.
708.200000 711.800000 It's this non-stop, super fast dialogue between your eyes and your brain.
711.800000 712.960000 It really is.
712.960000 718.240000 And this constant, rapid processing often leads to a common misunderstanding about illusions.
718.240000 723.680000 People think they mean our brain sucks or it's easily fooled, you know, in a negative way.
723.680000 726.600000 But here's the really powerful takeaway, I think.
726.600000 728.360000 Illusions aren't a bug in your brain.
728.360000 730.200000 They're actually more like a feature.
730.200000 734.240000 As neuroscientists Michael Bach points out, they actually highlight how incredibly well
734.240000 740.200000 adapted and efficient your visual system is for dealing with standard typical viewing situations.
740.200000 744.600000 It's only when your brain encounters something really atypical like a cleverly designed
744.600000 749.520000 illusion that those highly efficient, usually perfect shortcuts lead to what seems like
749.520000 751.560000 a misinterpretation.
751.560000 755.680000 There's a concept called the Bayesian interpretation of perception, which captures this beautifully.
755.680000 759.960000 It suggests your brain is constantly making the best possible guess, the most probable interpretation
759.960000 762.380000 of reality based on all its past experience.
762.380000 767.980000 Wow, okay, so it's less about being flawed and more about overlying on a system that works
767.980000 773.260000 perfectly like 99.9% of the time, but maybe like a super smart robot that's programmed
773.260000 775.100000 for specific tasks, right?
775.100000 778.140000 And then you give it something totally weird outside, it's usual parameters, and it gets
778.140000 779.780000 a little confused for a second.
779.780000 781.460000 But it's still a super smart robot.
781.460000 782.460000 That's amazing.
782.460000 783.460000 Exactly.
783.460000 785.620000 So it really raises this important question.
785.620000 791.100000 Instead of seeing them as flaws, should we see illusions as maybe a testament to our brains
791.100000 796.060000 incredible efficiency, its predictive power, even when it occasionally gets it wrong relative
796.060000 797.300000 to objective reality.
797.300000 802.500000 It's this sophisticated system designed over millennia to quickly make sense of a complex
802.500000 803.900000 messy world.
803.900000 807.620000 And sometimes those interpretations, though perfectly logical given the brain's training
807.620000 812.300000 data, just don't quite line up with the specific artificial reality of the illusion.
812.300000 813.300000 Right.
813.300000 817.940000 And speaking of what illusions do reveal, let's quickly bust one popular myth that seems
817.940000 819.580000 to float around online a lot.
819.580000 824.020000 They reveal absolutely nothing about your personality.
824.020000 825.020000 Zero.
825.020000 826.020000 Zilch.
826.020000 827.020000 You know those quizzes?
827.020000 830.660000 If you see the duck first, your right brain, if you see the rabbit, your creative, that kind
830.660000 831.660000 of thing.
831.660000 832.660000 Our resources are pretty clear.
832.660000 833.660000 That's just...
833.660000 836.260000 Well, it's clickbaiting nonsense, basically.
836.260000 838.100000 There's no scientific basis for it.
838.100000 839.100000 That's correct.
839.100000 840.100000 It's pure pop psychology.
840.100000 841.100000 Well, it's true.
841.100000 844.820000 Some people with perfectly normal vision might not perceive certain illusions as strongly
844.820000 846.940000 as others, or maybe not at all.
846.940000 850.620000 That doesn't signify anything deep about their personality type or cognitive style.
850.620000 853.160000 It's just normal variation in perception.
853.160000 854.260000 Nothing more, nothing less.
854.260000 855.260000 Good to know.
855.260000 858.660000 So we can all stop worrying if we couldn't see the hidden dolphin or whatever.
858.660000 859.660000 Exactly.
859.660000 860.660000 Yeah.
860.660000 862.220000 And this whole fascination we have, it's not new, as I mentioned.
862.220000 866.060000 The actual study of optical illusions goes way, way back.
866.060000 870.300000 You can trace it back to Greek philosophers, actually, around the fifth century BC.
870.300000 874.340000 They were some of the first to really propose that our senses, our eyes and ears, could
874.340000 875.740000 actually deceive us.
875.740000 878.500000 We recognize the subjective nature of perception even then.
878.500000 879.500000 Wow.
879.500000 880.500000 Fifth century BC.
880.500000 885.260000 And wasn't it Plato specifically who kind of figured out that illusions work because they
885.260000 889.260000 rely on both things, like both the senses and the mind?
889.260000 893.500000 He was connecting the physical input with the cognitive interpretation thousands of years
893.500000 894.500000 ago.
894.500000 897.940000 That's, that's pre-mind blowing in itself, laying the groundwork for neuroscience way
897.940000 898.940000 back then.
898.940000 901.460000 He certainly contributed to that line of thinking.
901.460000 906.180000 Then if we jump forward quite a bit to the 19th century, you see this real explosion of
906.180000 908.380000 scientific and artistic interest.
908.380000 912.980000 You had artists, philosophers, psychologists, scientists, people like Johannes Mueller,
912.980000 917.340000 JJ Opel, Herman von Helmholtz, all diving deep into this phenomenon.
917.340000 921.700000 They were trying to systematically understand the principles behind how these visual tricks
921.700000 926.780000 worked, meticulously documenting them, categorizing them, really pushing the boundaries
926.780000 929.660000 of what was understood about vision and perception at the time.
929.660000 933.760000 And all that intense research eventually helps spark a whole art movement, right?
933.760000 934.760000 Op art.
934.760000 939.820000 I remember reading about W.E. Hill's famous cartoon from 1915, the one that can be seen
939.820000 943.500000 as either a young woman turning away or an old woman in profile.
943.500000 945.380000 That's a classic ambiguous one.
945.380000 946.380000 Yes.
946.380000 950.620000 My wife and my mother-in-law, it's often called a perfect example of cognitive ambiguity.
950.620000 951.620000 Right.
951.620000 956.620000 And work like that paved the way for Op art optical art, which deliberately uses illusions
956.620000 958.300000 to mess with our perception.
958.300000 962.740000 It shows how deeply these ideas resonated, not just in science labs, but in culture too.
962.740000 963.820000 It really does.
963.820000 966.140000 It highlights the enduring appeal.
966.140000 969.860000 Both the fun and the scientific significance of these visual puzzles, not just these fleeting
969.860000 970.860000 moments of surprise.
970.860000 972.020000 Oh, wow, look at that.
972.020000 976.940000 They are actually keys, keys to unlocking the really sophisticated processes that create
976.940000 981.260000 our everyday visual experience, revealing just how much our brain shapes the world will
981.260000 982.260000 be perceived.
982.260000 983.700000 And there you have it.
983.700000 989.260000 Our deep dive into the magnificent and, yes, sometimes pretty mischievous world of optical
989.260000 992.400000 illusions, they're definitely not just parlor tricks.
992.400000 998.780000 They are genuine windows into how our brilliant minds take shortcuts, how they interpret data,
998.780000 1001.980000 how they constantly adapt to the visual world flooding in around us.
1001.980000 1005.780000 Hopefully understanding a bit more about these illusions gives you a deeper appreciation
1005.780000 1010.460000 for all the complex, often totally subconscious stuff happening inside your head every single
1010.460000 1011.460000 second.
1011.460000 1012.460000 It's pretty amazing.
1012.460000 1015.340000 Maybe the next time you see something that makes you do a double take, whether it's one
1015.340000 1018.900000 of those static images that seems to wiggle or maybe, yeah, face in your breakfast bagel
1018.900000 1019.900000 take a second.
1019.900000 1024.140000 Consider it not just what your eyes are technically seeing, but what hidden assumptions your brain
1024.140000 1027.500000 might be making, what lifetime of learning is it applying.
1027.500000 1031.780000 And maybe wonder, what else might you be seeing that isn't quite truly there?
1031.780000 1032.780000 Lots to think about.
1032.780000 1034.300000 Thanks for diving deep with us today.
1034.300000 1037.300000 And that wraps up today's episode of Everyday Explained.
1037.300000 1040.780000 We love making sense of the world around you five days a week.
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1045.860000 1047.900000 I'm Chris and I'll catch you in the next one.