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Al Seckel

Art Of Optical Illusions Paperback – September 1, 2000

by Al Seckel (Author)

17 ratings

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Optical illusions have fascinated the human mind for centuries. Bu defying common perception and the working of the eye with stuble, mind-teasing images, optical illusions are presented in both color and black and white.

Print length

160 pages
Language:

English
Publisher

Carlton Publishing Group
Publication date

September 1, 2000
Dimensions

9.02 x 0.41 x 10.1 inches
ISBN-10

1842220543
ISBN-13

978-1842220542
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Al Seckel, formerly of the California Institute of Technology, is a leading authority on visual and other types of sensory illusions. His earlier work, "The Great Book of Optical Illusions" garnered rave reviews, and sold nearly 100,000 copies. He is the author of over 15 books on this subject, and has lectured extensively at many of the world's most prestigious universities. He also designs interactive galleries on illusions and perception for science museums across the country and around the world. Seckel writes an illusion column for "National Geographic Kids" magazine.

Product details

Publisher : Carlton Publishing Group; 1st edition (September 1, 2000)
Language: : English
Paperback : 160 pages
ISBN-10 : 1842220543
ISBN-13 : 978-1842220542
Item Weight : 1.4 pounds
Dimensions : 9.02 x 0.41 x 10.1 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,383,984 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4,294 in Graphic Design Techniques
- #7,362 in Arts & Photography Criticism

Customer Reviews:
17 ratings

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MQR

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2014

Verified Purchase

Nephew love it!

Helpful

Prasad M

Good!

Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2001

Verified Purchase

Nicely done. I am happy with the purchase. However, I expected more elaboration on theory behind the ilusions.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

The Creative Intelligence of Vision

Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2000

"The Art of Optical Illusions" will trick and treat your eyes. Images appear from nowhere, flat surfaces become three-dimensional, and pictures with paradoxes become peculiarly perplexing. This is a true amusement park for the mind.

The lavishly produced collection of 150 color and black and white pictures are displayed in four galleries. Each gallery is followed by a page containing the explanations for the illusions. Under each picture, there is a short description of how to enjoy the illusion or a description of how to make the illusion work.

On page 78, I found a purple and white Figure/Ground illusion. When you focus on the white images, you see kitchen tools. When you focus on the purple image, you also see kitchen tools. The picture of the cherry pie is also amusing. First you see a pie minus a piece, then you see just a piece of pie in the pie plate. The picture of the "Impossible Triangle" took me about 3 minutes to figure out. I really had to think on that one and many of the images do stimulate thinking. When I did figure it out, it was enlightening. For some reason the calculation on page 37 worked for me the first time.

The "Heart Afterimage" was fun. You have to steadily stare at a black dot in the middle of a green heart surrounded by a yellow heart. Then, when you look on a white page, you see a red heart. The "Folded Chess Set" is so amusing, your eyes cannot keep the image in one place. The chessboard keeps moving back and forth and you feel like you are going to get dizzy if you keep looking at it.

Now, I must admit....I cheated on a few of the illusions and still haven't figured out the one on page 115. There are plenty of scientific reasons to explain why the illusions work. You can look up the images by number at the end of each gallery chapter.

As a child I was introduced to a small book of illusions and since then I have been fascinated with optical effects and visual perception. Vision science is now one of the most exciting areas being researched. Al Seckel is one of the world's leading authorities on illusions and designs interactive illusion and perception galleries for science museums. He is currently working in the Division of Computational and Neuronal Systems at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

This book will amuse and intrigue you. It will delight your mind and make you laugh as the answer to a puzzling picture suddenly pops out and surprises you. The images are unusual and you will have to take out a ruler and measure the tabletops on page 10. Then you still won't believe they are the same size! On page 3 you will see yellow dots, but as you look around the page, they start to blink. I saw black dots in the middle of the yellow dots. This made them appear to be blinking, but there are no real black dots.

Welcome to "The Creative Intelligence of Vision." You are going to love this collection of visual puzzles and enigmatic designs. Keep this on your coffee table to amuse all your friends. This is a true classic study of illusions.

"Whilst part of what we perceive comes through our senses from the object before us, another part (and it may be the larger part) always comes out of our own mind." --William James

~The Rebecca Review

2 people found this helpful

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Fernando Melendez

A Brilliant Collection, by fermed

Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2000

Al Seckel has done a wonderful job of assembling this great collection of visual illusions. It is lavishly illustrated - mostly one illusion per page - with the majority in full color, allowing the reader a generous view of the eye-teasing pictures. Some are classical illusions, redesigned and improved, and others were brand new to me. The accompanying text is concise and helpful.
A sensory illusion is essentially a deception in which physical stimuli are arranged in such a way as to make them appear different from what they really are. It is a form of cheating the senses through appearances. But why would anyone be interested in such distortions?
Painters, of course, were the first professionals to make full use of visual deception by making our eyes believe that when we are looking at their two-dimensional canvasses we are seeing a thre-dimensional world. They cheated our eyes (and our brains too) into contributing "depth" to their flat works. Velazquez's great "Las Meninas" is the prototype of how optical illusions can be elevated to great art.
But there is much more to it than that: decorators, designers, psychologists, philosophers (Aristotle was intrigued by the sensory illusion, illustrated in this book, in which a person "senses" that they have two noses), engineers, children, physicians, and the generally curious should take some time to be entertained by by these figures, for illusions can be a wellspring to unexpected creativity.
Recently V. S. Ramachandran, a physician and neuroscientist, started using optical illusions to control the intractable pain experienced by amputees in their missing limbs. His book is called "Phantoms in the Brain." Ah, you may say, how can it be possible for a hand that no longer exists to create an itch (an unscratchable itch, of course) or a pain, or even a sensation in the amputee? Ell, it does, to the extent that some amputees are driven to suicide by their intractable illusions of pain and itch and discomfort in their non-exiting limbs. Ramachandran combats one sensory illusion (of pain) with a visual illusion of an existing hand, and amazingly teaches the victims of "phantom" limbs how to obtain relief that way.
Personally, I bought this volume to give to a young friend for her 10th birthday. This book (and a ruler) will teach her that things in this world are frequently not the way they appear to be. She might as well learn that bit of scientific intelligence as soon as possible.

Helpful

Eye candy for the imagination!

Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2000

Its not often you find a book that challenges the intellect, is fun to read, yet appeals to many age groups. Al Seckel has accomplished this demanding task with his book "The Art of Optical Illusions". Seckel presents the illusions as if you were touring an art gallery. He acts as a guide who lets you explore the visuals freely yet helps you understand them with succinct explanations if needed. Seckel does this by dividing his book into 4 gallerys. Each gallery includes a number of illusions, one per page. At the end of each gallery there are notes that help further explain the visual. You are able to enjoy and explore the illusions and reference the notes if you wish to know more. The illusions range from the simple to the more sophisticated. Each illusion is beautifully rendered thus enhancing its effects. I was delighted to find an old favorite,"the floating finger" and fascinated by many I had never seen including "gesture of a dancer"! Approximately 150 illusions are included, some in black and white others in color. The book is in large paperback format making it reader friendly. The quality of the pages, texture and thickness enhance the pleasure of discovering each illusion. This is a book that will stimulate creativity and provide hours of pleasure for young and old alike! A nice coffee table book that will be used!

14 people found this helpful

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