OpticalIllusion
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Researchers develop a computer that's fooled by optical illusions
Say you're staring at the image of a small circle in the center of a larger circle: The larger one looks green, but the smaller one appears gray. Except your friend looks at the same image and sees another green circle. So is it green or gray? It can be maddening and fun to try to decipher what is real and what is not. In this instance, your brain is processing a type of optical illusion, a phenomenon where your visual perception is shaped by the surrounding context of what you are looking at.
This enormous gas tank is now a wondrous, isolating work of art (video)
Once it stored enormous quantities of blast furnace and coal gas, but these days the Gasometer Oberhausen is a 385 foot tall cylindrical art gallery. Since the early 90s, the gargantuan storage tank has been host to more than a dozen art exhibitions, and its latest display puts its own absurd size front and center. 320° Licht plays on the gallery's tar-black walls, projecting optical illusions that make the surface appear to warp and bend. "This experience is based on the vastness of the Gasometer," explains project sound designer Jonas Wiese. "We tried to work with that expression to make the space bigger and smaller, to deform it and change its surface over and over while not exaggerating and overwriting the original effect of the room." According to the installation's creators, that effect is dwarfing. Viewers are left feeling small, even lost.
Kisai Stencil LCD watch keeps it vague, outlines the time (video)
The Kisai Stencil is the latest fan-submitted design to make it through to Tokyo Flash's online shelves. It brandishes the same always-on LCD display of its stablemates, with the time displayed through a combination of lines and dots, with the digits taking up the full width of the watch's display. The Stencil arrives in five different display colors, alongside both white or black leather strap options and arrives on Tokyo Flash's trademark early-bird discount; buy in the first 48 hours and you'll net a $40 discount, dropping the price down to $99. Obtuse timepiece fans can take a closer look in a video right after the break.
Tokyoflash Kisai Optical Illusion watch is more than meets the eye, smells like teen spirit
Back in the mid-90s, Magic Eye had a brief reign as the monger of stereogram cool -- you know, those hidden 3D images you could only see with crossed vision. While the flames of that mini-craze mercifully died out, it appears some diehard, grunge-era revivalist over at Tokyoflash is prepping a wrist piece comeback for the low-tech made notorious by Mallrats. Reincarnated as the Kisai Optical Illusion, this concept-to-design LCD watch incorporates high-resolution diagonal lines on its touch screen display that reveal the time to trained eyes. But if your peepers are out of practice, don't worry, there's also a handy shortcut button that ought to clarify things a bit. As with all of the outfit's pretty, but pointless chronological kit, this particular limited edition model will retail for $179 as part of a special two-day sale, after which it'll jump to $199. Like what you can't see? Then bust out the flannel, lace up those Docs and prepare your plastic for processing when this digital ticker hits virtual shelves.
Tokyoflash reaches new heights of unreadability with latest concept watch
Technically speaking, the maze-like array of diagonals you see above is actually showing you the time. But, as is Tokyoflash's wont, the point here isn't so much about time itself as it is about the journey of figuring it out. Well trained ninjas might be able to decouple the numbers from their unhelpfully similar background, but for the rest of us this "Optical Illusion" LED watch will be an enigma of random black lines wrapped inside a lime green mystery. Thankfully, it does come with a button to clear away the mists of confusion if you ever need to, you know, actually tell the time. The watch remains a concept for now, but if enough people vote in favor of its unnecessarily convoluted design, Tokyoflash might just go ahead and build a few. So why not jump off the fence and make your voice heard in the source below?
Samsung Soul promo video shows 10 optical illusions in 136 seconds
We'll be frank -- we really have no idea what Samsung's getting at with its freshest Soul promotional video, but it's certainly a fine piece of eye candy if nothing else. Put simply, the video shows a maniac darting about demonstrating ten optical illusions in just over two minutes, and in case you couldn't guess, the Soul is saved for last. Should we have prefaced that bit with a spoiler warning? Too bad -- vid's still waiting after the jump if you're interested, though. [Thanks, Joel]
