10 Mind Melting Illusions (And Exactly How They Work)

Can't believe your eyes? You're right not to.

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You're probably not an idiot, you're probably not easily fooled, but sometimes that dumb old brain of yours lets you down, and allows itself to be hoodwinked by a trick of the light, a forced perspective or even a quirk of evolution.

Illusions occurs thanks to the way we use our sense and our brains to interact with the world. Not to get too existential this early on, but reality, with its sights, smells, sounds and sensations, is all just a construct of our mind, reacting to signals from our senses. Our senses aren't perfect either, meaning that our brains have to do quick a lot of guess work and gap filling, just to keep everything running smoothly. This means that, every now and again, it can be fooled, and this is where we get illusions from.

As well as being fun, in a brain bending, migraine inducing kind of way, optical illusions also give scientists a great insight into the innermost workings of our brains.The more we find out about how our brains can be tricked, confused and manipulated, the more we learn about the mechanisms involved in how we perceive the world.

Plus, you know, they're just kinda spooky.

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