Behavior
Calderon's 2 Dreams
These 17th-century plays resonate the fundamental, timeless, question of human existence: How can we know that life is not a dream?
Stories by Stephen L. Macknik
Behavior
Off-the-Top Is an Off-Broadway Mix of Rap and Neuroscience
Freestylin’ rapper Baba Brinkman and neuroscientist Heather Berlin drop a brainy beat at the Huron Club every Wednesday for the next seven weeks...
Neuroscience
A Snowy Illusion for the Holidays
Once you know the "Snow Blind illusion," you won’t be able to wait for winter
When Free Choice Is an Illusion
Magicians and cognitive scientists know how to manipulate what we pick—or thought we picked
Behavior
Faster Than the Speed of Vision
Scientists have found the speed limit of vision with an illusion in which nothing moves at all...
Behavior
Glossy Legs Leave Internet Agog
An artist’s legs appear encased in plastic, but it’s an illusion that’s painted on with a few white strokes
The Case of the Oversized Planet
Illusions noticed by Galileo can help explain how we see light and dark
Neuroscience
The Stars in Your Eyes
Galileo saw celestial spheres spinning in space, but was dismayed by effects we now know arose in his brain: The same Jovian moon could appear small or big depending on whether it was dark or bright against its background...
Behavior
Scientists Should Speak Out More
Engaging the public has long been taboo in scientific circles, but social media outlets are starting to force a change
Urban Illusions: Deceptions on Roads and around Corners
Street artists use the city as their canvas
How Artists Create Images That Fool the Eye
Trompe l'oeil illusions challenge your perception
Sculpting the Impossible: Artists Make Solid Renditions of Visual Illusions
Artists find mind-bending ways to bring impossible figures into three-dimensional reality
View Amazing Images That Seem to Move
Art and neuroscience combine to create fascinating examples of illusory motion
The Illusions of Love
How do we fool thee? Let us count the ways that illusions play with our hearts and minds
Is That Picture Looking at Me?
Eye gaze is critically important to social primates such as humans. Maybe that is why illusions involving eyes are so compelling
The Brain’s Face Recognition System Is Easy to Fool
The human brain is good at identifying faces, but illusions can fool our “face sense”
The Visual Tricks of the Color Red
The facts and fictions of crimson perception
Discover the Science of School Yard Illusions
Childhood tricks can reveal a surprising amount about early cognition and the nervous system
Pain Is Controlled as Much by the Brain as by Sensation
Pain is an emotion
Fearsome Halloween-Themed Illusions
Spooky illusions trick and treat your brain
