Summary
Areas of Science
Difficulty
Time Required
Average (6-10 days)
Credits
Ben Finio, PhD, Science Buddies
Illusions based on the work of Dr. Kokichi Sugihara
*Note:
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Abstract
The Science Buddies project Design Your Own 3D Printed Optical Illusion shows you how to make your own 3D printed "anomalous mirror symmetry" illusions (Figure 1). The illusions are based on the work of Dr. Kokichi Sugihara. You can read his original paper about the illusions in the Bibliography.
Figure 1. Two versions of the "impossible arrow" shape that appears to point to the right while its reflection in the mirror appears to point to the left. Which version of the shape do you find to be a more convincing illusion?
A key part of the illusion is your brain's assumption that the top of the shape is flat. However, as you will see if you watch this video, that is not true. The top and bottom surfaces of the shape have a three-dimensional profile.
For a science project, could you explore the factors that affect human perception of this illusion? For example:
- Do environmental conditions like lighting matter? What about soft, diffused lighting that makes the top of the shape appear uniform, compared to harsher directional lighting that creates shadows on the top of the shape?
- What about different methods for generating the 3D model of the shape (shown in Figure 1 and described in more detail in the Design Your Own 3D Printed Optical Illusion project)? Does one method work better than the other? Does it depend on the shape?
- Can people who have never seen the illusion before or watched the Science Buddies video figure out how it works?
- Mathematically, the illusion is designed to work from a certain view angle. In reality, is there a wider range of angles under which the illusion works? At what angle does the illusion fail? Is this angle different for different people?
- Do other factors, like the color or surface texture of the shape, make a difference?
Bibliography
- Sugihara, K. (2016). Anomalous Mirror Symmetry Generated by Optical Illusion. Symmetry. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
- Prisco, J. (2018, May 15). Master of illusion: Kokichi Sugihara's 'impossible' objects. CNN. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
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Cite This Page
General citation information is provided here. Be sure to check the formatting, including capitalization, for the method you are using and update your citation, as needed.MLA Style
Finio, Ben.
"Human Perception of the Anomalous Mirror Symmetry Illusion." Science Buddies,
31 May 2022,
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/HumBeh_p064/human-behavior/anomalous-mirror-symmetry-illusion.
Accessed 7 June 2023.
APA Style
Finio, B.
(2022, May 31).
Human Perception of the Anomalous Mirror Symmetry Illusion.
Retrieved from
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/HumBeh_p064/human-behavior/anomalous-mirror-symmetry-illusion
Last edit date: 2022-05-31
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