The 'bookshelf illusion'--a real-world Zöllner-type illusion?
We discovered an interesting perceptual distortion in our office where an upright lamp in front of a bookshelf was noticeably curved to form several subtle S-shaped bends. We realized that the books in the bookshelf fell in a particular manner, leaning in alternative directions, which caused the straight lamp to appear bent, creating what may be a real-world example of the Zöllner illusion. Evidence for the production of the illusion diagrammatically and an explanation for the effect are provided.
University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA 50614, USA.
Otto H
OH
MacLin
Dwight J
DJ
Peterson
D006801:Humans; D009903:Optical Illusions; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation