Check Out the Best Illusion of the Year Contest Winners for 2016 ! [Video]

Congratulations to the winners of the 12th annual Best Illusion of the Year Contest, hosted by the Neural Correlate Society. Thousands of online voters around the world chose the best illusions of the year

Join Our Community of Science Lovers!

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American


First Place and an award of $3,000 USD went to “Motion integration unleashed” a motion perception illusion by Mathew T. Harrison and Gideon P. Caplovitz from the University of Reno, Nevada, USA.

Second Place and an award of $2,000 USD went to “Ambiguous Cylinder Illusion” a perspective illusion by Kokichi Sugihara from Meiji University, Japan.   


On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.


Third Place and an award of $1,000 USD went to “Silhouette Zoetrope” a motion illusion by Christine Veras from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Enjoy the winning illusions and the other Top 10 Finalists, listed below: 
•  Jose-Manuel Alonso: “Lights and Darks in Vision.” State University of New York, USA
• Peter Brugger and Rebekka Meier: “A New Illusion At Your Elbow.” University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland                                           
• Vebjørn Ekroll, Bilge Sayim, Ruth Van der Hallen and Johan Wagemans: “The Shrunken Finger Illusion.” University of Leuven, Belgium
•  Arthur G. Shapiro: “Remote Controls.” American University, USA
•  Mike Pickard and Gurpreet Singh: “The Dalesmen Singers Illusion.” Sunderland University, UK
• Mark Vergeer, Stuart Anstis and Rob van Lier: “Caught Inside a Bubble.” University of Leuven, Belgium, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands, and UC San Diego, USA
•  Sylvia Wenmackers: “Millusion.” University of Leuven, Belgium

Illusion submissions are now accepted for the 13th edition of the Best Illusion of the Year Contest, to be held in 2017.
 

Stephen L. Macknik is a professor of opthalmology, neurology, and physiology and pharmacology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Along with Susana Martinez-Conde and Sandra Blakeslee, he is author of the Prisma Prize-winning Sleights of Mind. Their forthcoming book, Champions of Illusion, will be published by Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

More by Stephen L. Macknik

Subscribe to Support Independent Journalism

Great science journalism requires human expertise, time, effort and creativity. And it costs money. That’s why I and the journalists here at Scientific American hope you’ll join our community.

When you subscribe, you are supporting staff and freelance journalists who are passionate about telling science stories that are true, important and compelling. Our editors and reporters are often experts in their fields, which means they understand the nuances of big discoveries and can untangle the breakthroughs from the hype. With a subscription, you are also supporting rigorous fact-checking to ensure the words we publish are precise and accurate. And you’re supporting original illustrations, graphics and photos that bring you closer to an advanced laboratory, an ice sheet in Antarctica or a space mission in orbit. You’re helping us craft other types of high-quality journalism as well: Our newsletters are carefully written, edited and curated by staffers you have or will come to know and love. Our Science Quickly podcast is based on original reporting, collaboration with editors and scientists and exacting production.

Subscriptions keep this engine running so we can continue to deliver thoughtful, rigorous and independent science journalism to you. In an era of viral misinformation, this work is crucial. If you value what we do, I hope you’ll consider joining us as a subscriber

Thank you,

Jeanna Bryner, Editor in Chief, Scientific American

Subscribe