Hering Radial Distortion
Curved Distortion of Parallel Lines • Two perfectly straight, parallel lines appear to bow outwards across radial spokes.
Parameter Controls
Adjust procedural mathematical parameters in real-time to alter or break the illusion.
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🧠 Scientific Explanation & Psychophysics
Human orientation-selective neurons in primary visual cortex (V1) overestimate acute angles formed by intersecting lines. The visual system misinterprets the radial background as forward optical flow, causing the brain to predict visual distortion before it occurs.
Why This Works in the Brain
The visual cortex processes incoming sensory information using specialized receptive fields and cortical feature detectors. Illusions occur when mathematical geometries produce conflicting spatial signals, exposing how the brain constructs subjective perception from objective electromagnetic light waves.