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Believe nothing of what you see...

Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2005 9:41 pm
by netmaestro
Here is a little picture you can amaze your friends with (and maybe make a bit of money on bar bets) :D

Image

You can use Photoshop (or similar) to verify that the sqares marked A and B are indeed both rgb(107,107,107) but to look at the picture it is nearly impossible to believe. It's all done with shadows...

Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2005 9:58 pm
by DoubleDutch
nice

Re: Believe nothing of what you see...

Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2005 11:09 pm
by rsts
netmaestro wrote: - but to look at the picture it is nearly impossible to believe.
You're right, It's hard to believe, but colorpic confirms it.

Pretty nifty.

Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2005 11:23 pm
by netmaestro
I know I said it's all done with shadows, but that isn't strictly true. Part of the effect is caused by the shadow thrown by the cylinder, but it's what your brain does with the shadow that makes it work. The checkerboard pattern is well established in your mind when you look at the picture and your brain "wants" the B square to fit into the pattern - so when the shadow falls on it the brain tries to compensate for that and interprets the square as being lighter than it really is.

Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 1:50 am
by ricardo
The squares or the letters inside (A,B)?

Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 1:52 am
by Dare2
lol. That is amazing. :)

Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 1:54 am
by ricardo
OMG! :shock:

Hard to believe it!

I will make some bucks with a couple of friends :twisted:

Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 1:54 am
by jack
stupid mind :lol:
i made a printout and then cut out the squares, they are the same color. :shock:

Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 2:00 am
by netmaestro
Best way to win bets with this is to print the picture out and make a template out of a second sheet of paper. Put the second sheet over top of the picture and trace around the edges of the two relevant squares. When you have this done, cut them out with a pair of scissors. Then, to prove the colors are equal, you can just place the template over the picture, hiding everything except the two squares A and B. They then appear identical. Don't bring your laptop to the bar, it'll get stolen.

Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 11:29 am
by MrMat
You can test it interactively on this site:
http://www.echalk.co.uk/amusements/Opti ... ption.html
There's a couple of other colour illusions there too, check out illusion 3! :shock:

Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 2:06 pm
by netmaestro
Those indeed look remarkable when viewed interactively, but photoshop's eyedropper does not prove them out like it does in Adelson's picture. I'm getting significantly different readings between the relevant squares in all the examples. I think somebody took a good illusion and tried to stretch it a bit further by using colors that the naked eye would see as identical with the mask applied, but you can't fool photoshop. Even my naked eye sees the difference in example 1 with the mask on.

Also - The interactive examples are done in Flash, and with a Flash presentation virtually anything could be going on subliminally, which is not the case in the first picture.

Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 2:10 pm
by PB
> Even my naked eye sees the difference in example 1 with the mask on

Edit: Actually, I agreed with you at first... but then I took a screenshot of
example 1 with the mask on, zoomed in, and looked at it with Paint Shop
Pro... both squares were RGB 107,107,107... so I don't know why PhotoShop
is giving you different readings?

Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 2:20 pm
by thefool
I tested it too, just using paint brush no need to launch photoshop here.
I take the colour, and draw using the colour it find on the second square.

The pictures in the link, in the flash, are real. But i agree its easy to cheat, but in this case it isnt cheating.

Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 2:35 pm
by netmaestro
I took a screenshot of
example 1 with the mask on
GOTCHA! Try it with the mask off. Proof positive that skullduggery is afoot!

Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2005 2:39 pm
by PB
> GOTCHA! Try it with the mask off. Proof positive that skullduggery is afoot!

Nope, still get 107,107,107 for both squares. 8)