The Cafe Wall Illusion
The Cafe Wall Illusion is an optical illusion that creates the appearance of distorted, wavy lines. It was first discovered by British psychologist Richard Gregory in 1973 and was named after a tiled wall in a Bristol cafe where he observed this effect.
The Cafe Wall illusion is a fascinating example of a visual illusion that plays with our perception of parallel lines. At first glance, it appears as though the horizontal rows of alternating dark and light bricks are slanting, creating a staggered effect. However, when you fade the square out and leave the lines there, it is clear that those same lines have been parallel the entire time.
After researching the psychology behind this (and digging back to my AP Psych knowledge) I learned that the phenomenon can be attributed to a combination of gestalt principles. The close proximity of the dark and light tiles leads our brains to group them together, forming the illusion of slanted rows. The higher contrast between the colors of the tiles and lines enhances the effect. Try some different combinations of colors to see which work best for seeing the illusion but also not seeing it.
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