
Shadows and Illusions
The way we detect shape and depth from shading reveals some primeval rules that govern how we see the world
Vilayanur S. Ramachandran is a professor and director of the Center for Brain and Cognition at the University of California, San Diego. Ramachandran's accolades include receiving the Henry Dale Prize of the Royal Institution of Great Britain in London, giving the 2003 Reith Lectures for the BBC and participating in the 2012 Gifford Lectures in Glasgow.
The way we detect shape and depth from shading reveals some primeval rules that govern how we see the world
Experiments with a simple mirror setup can reveal much about the workings of the brain
Spooky fun with afterimages
When an object is partially hidden, the brain deftly reconstructs it as a visual whole
How quirks of perception drive the evolution of species
And other real-life tales from the bizarre realm of out-of-body experience
Using aftereffects to probe visual function reveals how the eye and brain handle colors and contours
How the eyes can see movement where it does not exist
What do the famous portrait and the former U.S. president have in common?
Insights into the nuances of depth perception provided by our two eyes' slightly different views of the world
Binocular vision gives us depth perception—and enables us to play some tricks
The brain, like nature, abhors a vacuum
What do the Mona Lisa and Abraham Lincoln have in common?
How visual-processing systems shape our feelings about what we see
Camouflage in fish and other animals provides insights into visual perception
The feeling of being touched on a fake hand illuminates how the brain makes assumptions about the world
A tale of binocular rivalry
When you hoist two items of equal weight, your brain may be doing some heavy lifting
What uncertainty tells us about the brain
How the eyes can see movement where it does not exist
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