Beginning with the evolution of visual perspective, McNaughton reveals how and why illusions work. She offers optical illusions to suggest to readers that the world they perceive is in fact a complex product of their brains, constructed from the sensory data. Illustrations.

Do things always look smaller when they are further away? Can something be clearly visible but not there at all? Is it ever possible to have a direct and true experience of reality? Are you sure? In this delightful and informative little book Phoebe McNaughton takes us on a classical journey through the history of artistic perspective, showing how the eye can be tricked and confused, the brain befuddled, and the philosopher inside all of us awakened by the nature of illusion. WOODEN BOOKS are small but packed with information. "e;Fascinating"e; FINANCIAL TIMES. "e;Beautiful"e; LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS. "e;Rich and Artful"e; THE LANCET. "e;Genuinely mind-expanding"e; FORTEAN TIMES. "e;Excellent"e; NEW SCIENTIST. "e;Stunning"e; NEW YORK TIMES. Small books, big ideas.

Explores Dali's experiments with perspectives, offering more than one hundred color and sixty-one black and white illustrations of the artist's optical illusions.

A gallery of over one hundred optical illusions, each with an explanation.

This intriguing collection contains more than 275 optical illusions that appear to change before your eyes. Al Seckel carefully selected both well-known images, such as Shepard's tabletop, Wade's spiral, Ames room and Rubin's face/vase, and many lesser-known, but no less effective, illusions. Every type of optical illusion is here, along with notes about the science of each visual perception and how the illusions work. Among the baffling images and shapes are: Figure/ground illusions, in which one shape switches into another then back again Ambiguous figures Impossible objects Trompe l'oeil Stereo illusions. With illusions rendered in photography, artwork and computer imaging, and a huge variety of themes and effects, Optical Illusions dazzles both the mind and the eye.

Rings of seahorses seem to rotate and butterflies seems to transform into warriors right on the page. Astonishing creations of visual trickery by masters of the art, such as Escher, Dali, and Archimbolo make this breathtaking collection the definitive book of optical illusions. Includes an illuminating Foreword by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Hofstadter.