An Optical Illusion

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

That is so freaking cool.

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

Very cool!

 

[LogicsFate]

I have a head ache now

 

[antman120]

Round and round

 

[Warrior Poet]

I knew I should have put in a request for more cones when I was getting my eye structure requisition!



How does that work, anyway?

Warrior Poet

 

[Hand of Evil]

but HOW does it work?

AR

I am not sure but I have a feeling that it has to do to light spectum and structure of the human eye, green a color we see better than others and as it moves we keep focus on it and the pink becomes less noticable.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

I believe it is just a matter of the cone cells in the eye becoming fatigued. They stop responding to the pink circles. When the pink dots briefly vanish, the fatigued cells leave an afterimage that appears green. When you look away from the cross, different cones cells are focused on the pink spots and since they are not yet fatigued, the dots "reappear."

 

[Altamont Ravenard]

Someone at work talked about remanescent images...

When you stare at a color, and look at a while piece of paper next, you'll usually see the image you were staring at, but in reverse color (red becomes green, blue becomes orange, yellow becomes purple, etc.).

AR

 

[sellars]

Habituation and afterimages:

I believe the answer of Thornir is completely accurate.

 

[cwhs01]

Habituation and afterimages:

I believe the answer of Thornir is completely accurate.

It's pressumably also something to do with how the brain interprets data sent from the eye. I think current theory about how visual data is interpreted into images in the brain, is that the brain cheats a little when it can get away with it. That is, it uses old knowledge about what an image should look like to construct a new one from optic input. So if your brain is sure that the screen infront of you had a lot of blank stuff on it a moment ago, chances are it's blank now as well. Untill your eye tells the brain something else that is. This coupled with cones in the eye, being exhausted by staring at the same spot continously, could presumably give the result we see. or don't see.

yeah i know i'm quoting from memory without any links to relevant authorities on the subject, but so are everyone else... Someone scan medline or some other source and find me a better explanation.

btw is this how the invisibility spell works, forcing everyone to look at you without blinking?