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One of my very favourite perceptual illusions. Quite famous, so you may well have seen it. But it still deserves a minute to contemplate in these times. /1
Square A and B are exactly the same colour and tone. Exactly. Seriously. Cut them out from the picture and compare them. /2
Why do we see A and B so differently? The clue is in the shadow thrown by the green block. Our brains see the shadow, and automatically adjust for the tone difference of B based upon the other information in the image. /3
But this illusion has a cooler philosophical element. Because it shows that what we think we & #39;see& #39; - what we observe in our reality - isn& #39;t actually what & #39;is& #39;. It& #39;s constructed from the image in our eyes, by our brains, to make a coherent reality. /4
Our perception is value-laden - subject to hidden adjustments and biases. So & #39;truth& #39; or & #39;fact& #39; - a word commonly bandied around to validate authority - isn& #39;t such a simple thing. The real & #39;truth& #39; is, we can& #39;t completely untangle the human from the perceptive reality observed. /5
Not a bad revelation from a simple checkerboard and an old green block.... ;-) //
