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Size Distortions Our ability to discriminate size depends on many factors. The relationship to nearby objects, context and our innate assumptions about reality all conspire to deceive the senses
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Click on the top left crescent and move it to one side of the central crescent. Which is bigger? Now move the crescent to the other side. Which is bigger now? To see which crescent is really bigger, place one on top of the other! |
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Which of these lines is the longest; AB or BC? In fact they are both identical in length! |
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This is the famous Muller-Lyer illusion. Which vertical segment is the longest? A ruler will prove your senses wrong. (This illusion works in societies used to rectilinear internal/external walls, but not in those living in curved abodes.) |
Which horizontal line looks the longest? Click and drag the smaller shape over to the larger one to compare the sizes of the lines. Now which line is longest? |
Both of these doors are equal in size, but we assume the lower one is nearer, and hence smaller |
Click
on the arrow to make the Moon rise. A
full Moon rising always seems gigantic compared to a full Moon high
overhead. In fact they are both the same size - about 1/2 degree
or half the width of your little finger at arm's length. The
presence of recognisable foreground objects combined with the small
parallax of the Moon reinforce its distance, and hence perceived
size. |
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