BehaviorMarch 30, 2018
Santiago Ramón y Cajal, the Young Artist Who Grew Up to Invent Neuroscience
Many creative scientists have artistic inclinations. The drawings of Santiago Ramón y Cajal, the father of neuroscience, are a beautiful example
Stories by Susana Martinez-Conde
Susana Martinez-Conde is a professor of ophthalmology, neurology, and physiology and pharmacology at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn, N.Y. She is author of the Prisma Prize–winning Sleights of Mind, along with Stephen Macknik and Sandra Blakeslee, and of Champions of Illusion, along with Stephen Macknik.
BehaviorMarch 23, 2018
Celebrating Sun–Earth Day: A Total Eclipse of the Mind
The art and perception behind the 2017 total solar eclipse
BehaviorMarch 2, 2018
The Track Pants Illusion
Why do we see two freakishly thin legs instead of a normal-sized one?
BehaviorFebruary 23, 2018
Jules Verne's Dreams
The facts and fiction of Jules Verne’s optical illusions
BehaviorFebruary 9, 2018
The Tilted Road Illusion
The latest viral illusion has a known explanation
NeuroscienceDecember 24, 2017
Secret UFOs, Green Rays and Why ET Is Not Coming to Christmas Dinner
An article in The New York Times revealed a recent secret Pentagon program to investigate UFOs. But science suggests they are best explained by optical illusions such as "solar mirages" and the elusive phenomena known as "green flashes"
BehaviorNovember 22, 2017
The Illusion of Murder
Murder scenes, up close and personal, by a skilled miniaturist
NeuroscienceOctober 31, 2017
Masters of Disguise
Nature’s everyday trickery
BehaviorOctober 26, 2017
The Exorcist Illusion will make your head spin!
A new twist on the hollow mask illusion
BehaviorOctober 11, 2017
The Best Illusions of the Year
Worldwide voters chose the Top 3 Illusions of 2017
BehaviorOctober 3, 2017
Countdown to the Best Illusion of the Year Contest and Final Honorable Mention: "The Blue Topaz" Illusion
Worldwide voting will take place on the contest’s Web site, from 4 P.M. EDT on October 4 to 4 P.M. EDT on October 5. Help us choose the top three winners!
BehaviorSeptember 29, 2017
Countdown to the Best Illusion of the Year Contest and Second Honorable Mention: "Rooftops" Illusion
Worldwide voting will take place on the contest’s website, from 4pm EDT on October 4th to 4pm EDT on October 5th. Help us choose the top three winners!
BehaviorSeptember 15, 2017
Countdown to the Best Illusion of the Year Contest and First Honorable Mention: "Moving Fairy-Tales" Illusion
Worldwide voting will take place on the contest’s Web site, from 4 P.M. Eastern time on October 4 to 4 P.M. ET on October 5. Help us choose the top three winners!
CognitionMay 8, 2017
Dissecting the Magic behind the Looking Glass
You don’t understand mirrors as well as you think
CognitionMay 1, 2017
Making Impossible Objects with Mirrors
Most of us don’t really understand how mirrors work, which makes for some fun reflective deception
BehaviorMarch 21, 2017
Call for Illusion Submissions: The World's Annual Best Illusion of the Year Contest
Contestants are invited to submit one-minute videos featuring novel illusions of all sensory modalities (visual, auditory, etcetera) and/or cognitive nature. The top three winners will receive: $3,000 for first place, $2,000 for second place and $1,000 for third place
CognitionMarch 1, 2017
Deploying Deception on the Battlefield
To avoid or at least control conflict, militaries often play tricks on their opponents’ perceptions
CognitionFebruary 6, 2017
The Invisibility Cloak Illusion
Do you feel invisible sometimes? Chances are, you’re incorrect. A recent study shows that people watch you more than you think
CognitionJanuary 1, 2017
When Free Choice Is an Illusion
Magicians and cognitive scientists know how to manipulate what we pick—or thought we picked
BehaviorDecember 31, 2016
To New Illusory Beginnings
The New Year is a new start. Embrace the feeling
BehaviorDecember 16, 2016
What Choice Do We Have?
Is there such a thing as free choice?
NeuroscienceNovember 23, 2016
With Thanks in the Brain
What happens in your brain when you experience gratitude?
BehaviorNovember 5, 2016
When Hillary Met Donald
An election-themed illusion to take your mind off the polls
CognitionNovember 1, 2016
The Case of the Oversized Planet
Illusions noticed by Galileo can help explain how we see light and dark