Naked Science Forum

Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: Andrew DK on 28/04/2009 22:30:02

Title: How do people see the 'hollow mask' illusion?
Post by: Andrew DK on 28/04/2009 22:30:02

Andrew DK  asked the Naked Scientists:
   
Hi naked people.

I've just listened to your latest podcast (http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/podcasts/) and as briefly as I possibly can there were a couple of subjects mentioned that I have experience with but don't really understand - and now I'm even more confuzzled! ..your thoughts would be appreciated.

On the subject of schizophrenia and the sunken mask: I have no relevant medical history but I find that if I look at this illusion in a similar way to a stereogram I can bring either the sunken or normal face into view and once 'locked' there it will look the same until I turn it inside out
again in my mind. Is this what other people can also see?

So the point of me waffling on like this.. am I just a bit strange or what?


Thanks

Andy K

What do you think?

Title: How do people see the 'hollow mask' illusion?
Post by: Chemistry4me on 29/04/2009 06:13:17

Looking at

a few times drove me crazy as I couldn't stop seeing the face

This one was even worse because the back of Einstein's head had eyes which followed me everywhere! Argg!

Title: How do people see the 'hollow mask' illusion?
Post by: Xenos on 03/05/2009 01:30:51

What's really freaky about this illusion is that if you look at it upside down, you can see the inverted mask.  Then if you rotate your screen after a few degrees it flips back into a face.  But upside down, it looks SO unlike a face that you just can't see why you'd ever perceive it differently.

See for yourself, try:
http://www.kyb.mpg.de/bu/demo/mask/index.html

On a laptop.