Optical Illusions: The Science of Visual Perception (Illusion Works) (Paperback)

~ Al Seckel (Author)
Key Phrases: brightness illusion, impossible fork, color assimilation, Akiyoshi Kitaoka, Roger Shepard, Sandro Del-Prete (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

American Library Association Quick Picks for Young Adult Reluctant Readers 2007 (School Library Journal 200703)

[Optical Illustions] has far more than the usual figure illusions found in other books of this nature. (Sara Catherine Howard Teacher Librarian: The Journal for School Library 200706)

This book offers a comprehensive collection of more than 275 mind-bending images, hidden figures and eye-opening graphic patterns. (The Telegram (St. John's NF) 20070823)

Highly entertaining. (Jodi DeLong Halifax Chronicle Herald )

Stunning images guaranteed to both befuddle and amaze you. (Calgary Sun )

Product Description

Seeing is not always believing.

Optical Illusions is an intriguing collection of baffling images and shapes that change before your eyes: hidden figures, incredible designs and dazzling graphic patterns. The book includes such well-known optical illusions as Shepard's Tabletop, Wade's Spiral, the Floating Finger illusion, Ames Room, and Rubin's Face/Vase illusion. There are more than 275 illusions in all, with explanations of each image and notes about the science of visual perception.

Every type of optical illusion is here, among them:
- Figure/ground illusions, in which one shape switches into another and back again
- Ambiguous figures
- Impossible objects
- Trompe l'oeil
- Stereo illusions.

With illusions rendered in photography, artwork and computer imaging, and its huge variety of themes and effects, Optical Illusions dazzles both the mind and the eye.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Firefly Books; Reprint edition (January 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1554071518
• ISBN-13: 978-1554071517
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #33,576 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice book, very misleading title., October 29, 2006

By	David H. Peterzell "Ph.D., Ph.D." (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Optical Illusions: The Science of Visual Perception (Illusion Works) (Hardcover)

One of the most beautiful and wonderful books I own is Al Seckel's "Masters of Deception: Escher, Dali & the Artists of Optical Illusions" (2004). Unlike most other books on illusions, the book itself is a creative tour de force. And Seckel supplements his creation with visually striking and important media at his website. I think I've already given away as many as ten copies of that book to family and friends since its release.

Another of Seckel's books that I refer to frequently "Incredible Visual Illusions: You won't believe your eyes" (2003). That book has twenty chapters, each containing a different class of illusion. As a sensory scientist who teaches courses on sensation, perception and cognition, I find this book useful because it organizes a nice collection of illusions into meaningful categories that are relevant to me. In this work, as in Seckel's many others, the author acknowledges many renowned vision scientists. I imagine that the book's organization benefited from Seckel's association with these people.

Seckel's new book is "Optical Illusions: The Science of Visual Illusions." This is a fine book, with 281 optical illusions (one per page). The book begins with a four page essay on illusions. This is followed 281 pages of illusions, each printed to fill one page. Many of the illusions have been published by Seckel and others previously. A few of the illusions are new. The illustration section is followed by 24 pages containing BRIEF explanations of each illusion. Each explanation is, on average, seven or eight sentences.

I have one major criticism of the new book. The title is highly misleading. The book title suggested to me a book that would delve into science, in a scholarly way, at least at the level of a Sensation and Perception undergraduate textbook. I was hoping for something of a sequel to Masters of Deception (e.g., "The Science of Deception"?). However, this book is not about the science of visual perception or of illusions. It is not even about "optical" illusions, as most illusions are explainable in terms of perceptual and cognitive processes beyond simple optics. Sure there are 24 pages of explanation at the very end of the book, but these are generally not deep, satisfying explanations. And there is no reference list that would allow the casual reader to track down important scientific articles.

One superb, beautiful resource on the science of visual illusions is Michael Bach's website, "Optical Illusions and Visual Phenomena". Bach's dynamic site is visually striking, presenting some great illusions. The explanation of each illusion is accessible to the novice, but detailed enough to satisfy and impress other perceptual scientists. Bach generously acknowledges the artists and scientists associated with each illusion, providing scholarly references in each case. Bach lists and explains scientific controversies regarding many of the illusions. I should add that Bach is a first-rate sensory scientist from the University of Freiburg. His electophysiological and psychophysical research is highly-regarded, important, and of high quality. When I have spoken to him in the past (at conferences and at the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute in San Francisco), I have always been impressed by his knowledge and intellectual passion. Bach and his website are the real deal.

There are plenty of other excellent scientific sources on illusions. Richard Gregory, for instance, has written and spoken about many illusions, and he is the prime mover, director, and creator of London's Explororey. Another great innovator and scientist is Christopher Tyler, a vision scientist at the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute. Among sensory scientists, Tyler is widely regarded as a genius and computational/theoretical wizard. He's the guy who invented the autostereogram (aka "The Magic Eye"), and who makes unique observations about art and symmetry. He contributed considerably to San Francisco's Exploratorium. He presents a variety of interesting things at his S-K website. The Exploratorium has a wonderful website on illusions and their explanations that is definitely worth a look. Project Lite and Viperlib are two other impressive, important sites related to the science of illusions.

Seckel mentions at his website that he has even more books on illusions that are coming soon. The one that got my attention is the following:

"Your Mind's Eye: A Comprehensive Scientific Examination of Visual and Sensory Illusions. Boston: The MIT Press." Seckel writes, "This will have a dual platform (Mac and PC CD Rom) featuring hundreds of interactive illusions, and very rigorous scientific explanations. University level." I hope that this book lives up to its billing. There's no doubt that Seckel's work, combined with a healthy dose of good science, would be an important contribution. I'd love to see Seckel promote scientists and their explanations with the same enthusiasm that he promotes their illusions. Moreover, I feel confident that Seckel has important insights into illusions, and that his ideas have scientific importance. I'm not sure that Seckel has succeeded in expressing these ideas... yet.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous book for children, August 20, 2009

By	L. McCormick - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I provided this book to an 11 and 13 year old. They have looked at every page over and over again. Fascinated by the images.

4.0 out of 5 stars For curious, more deep thinking kinds of kids, March 20, 2010

By	Rachael (Wynnewood, PA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

My 8 year old son really enjoys this book. It is more grown up than I thought it would be. My son says "it's very fun to follow the instructions and see cool stuff."