RSS Feed
April 8th, 2016 
Awake Goy 
Which train track is longer?
Two identical train tracks appear different to the brain, leaving a lot to be desired from the perspective of the mind.
Metro reports:
Dad and BBC Academy trainer Marc Settle stumbled on the latest mind-bending optical illusion while tidying away his toddler’s wooden train track.
When he placed lined two pieces of track next to each other, one looked significantly longer. But, when placed on top of each other, they magically became exactly the same size.
He shared his discovery, set to suitably dramatic music, on Twitter, along with a plea for help: ‘My toddler’s train track is freaking me out right now. What is going on here?!’
My toddler’s train track is freaking me out right now. What is going on here?! pic.twitter.com/9o8bVWF5KO
— marc blank-settle (@MarcSettle) April 6, 2016
‘The lower one is *clearly* bigger than the upper one. Until it isn’t,’ he later clarified.
His tweet was shared over a thousand times overnight. Possibly by drunk people.
But, drunk or not, people were baffled.
@MarcSettle @NiceChess757 pic.twitter.com/8aDGKEGHYO
— Lodoviko the Ronin (@LodovikoZ) April 7, 2016
And quite a few blamed Ikea.
@MarcSettle @obotheclown good old ikea. The secret demons of hell xxxx
— juney (@jmacbed) April 7, 2016
But, thankfully, there is an explanation: it’s a classic Jastrow illusion, as discovered by American psychologist Joseph Jastrow in the late 19th century.
Apparently this has a name – the “Jastrow illusion” https://t.co/3IAu835wiR HT @Shadeewolf
— marc blank-settle (@MarcSettle) April 6, 2016
It’s all to do with perspective.
Although the two tracks are identical, when one of the curved pieces is placed below the other, the lower one appears to be larger.
That’s because the short edge of the upper track is being compared to the long side of the lower one.
Shifting the upper track to the right would reveal they are identical sizes.
Makes sense right?
Now try it on all your drunk friends tonight.
Source Article from http://yournewswire.com/train-track-optical-illusion-confuses-the-brain/
Posted in 
Tags: 
