I think this is a fake. If it was really the pattern causing the illusion I should be able to just look at one corner quadrant and see the same effect. But the warping appears only in the center of the picture.
Spurious, the pattern is caused by the vertical or horizontal placement of the black and white checker tiles between the larger purple ones. If you look closely you'll see that while most places on the board alternate how the checker tiles are aligned, there's a row and column down the middle that has two aligned sets, which is what creates the illusion of misalignment radiating from the center.
It's a clever illusion, no doubt. Although the lines are technically straight, and perpendicular to each other, this portion of the illusion is not perfectly perpendicular to the monitor (maybe it got scanned crooked), as it is has been rotated counter-clockwise by 1/2 of a degree (no, seriously). That rotation, however, shouldn't adversely impact the illusion - that the straight lines seem to be bent/curved.
The real truth about this specific illusion... the illusion is slightly crooked, but the lines are straight. Very cool.
I was bored, so created this animated gif of the illusion, with and without the pivotal pieces.
Thanks Pedro, that is much clearer. And I see now why the warping only appears from the center, and not the rest of the picture is because of the repeated diamonds in the middle.
Comments (4)
...just...ew.
ew.
--TwoDragons
As for flooring - imagine coming home from the pub a bit squiffy...
Ruin the fun why dontcha.
I think I wanna go home now, I don't feel so good.
All illusions are fake. That's why they are called illusions.
The real truth about this specific illusion... the illusion is slightly crooked, but the lines are straight. Very cool.
I was bored, so created this animated gif of the illusion, with and without the pivotal pieces.