How Do Optical Illusions Work?

What is an optical illusion? Optical illusions, more appropriately known as visual illusions, involves visual deception. Due to the arrangement of images, effect of colors, impact of light source or other variable, a wide range of misleading visual effects can be seen.

If you've ever struggled to see the hidden image in a single-image stereogram, you may have discovered that not everyone experience visual illusions in the same way. For some illusions, some people simply are not able to see the effect.

While optical illusions can be fun and interesting, they also reveal a great deal about the working of the brain. Learn more about some of the most famous optical illusion and discover exactly how and why these visual illusions occur in this optical illusion gallery.