WTSM 100L

Reading for Thursday 11/8: Optical Illusions article

Note: the article contains technical explanations of a few of the illusions, which are beyond the scope of this course. Those paragraphs are bracketed to indicate that you may skip them.

Questions (bring answers to class for discussion, not to hand in)

What does “cognitive impenetrability” mean?

What are some reasons why studying optical illusions from a scientific perspective is useful?

What’s a Rorschach test? If you don’t know, look it up.

Describe the illusions seen in

The Hermann grid

“Throwing cast nets”

The Zöllner illusion

The Ponzo illusion

The impossible trident

The Allegory of the Cave comes up again—what point are they making with it here?