Have you ever stared at a moving waterfall and then looked away, only to see the rocks or trees nearby appear to float upward? Have you ever turned your head away from a cascading waterfall to see the surrounding trees or rocks seem to be moving up? One of the most amazing examples, in my opinion, of how our brains attempt to keep up with what we're seeing is the waterfall effect.
When you stare at something moving in one direction for a long time, such as water flowing down, and then turn your gaze to something stationary, you'll experience the waterfall effect. Your motion-sensitive neurons begin to adapt as they become accustomed to the continuous movement. However, your brain hasn't yet caught up when you abruptly stop seeing the motion. It overcompensates for a short while, giving the impression that things are going the other way. It's simply your brain attempting to make sense of change.
This effect really caught my eye when I first saw it in a short video a few years back. It was amazing to observe how concentrating on one thing moving could alter my perception of everything around it. I became interested in learning more about how our senses and brains interact after that experience. The speed at which our perspective can shift without our brain being able to acknowledge it is startling to me. It also makes me consider how frequently we may be viewing the world not as it actually is, but rather as our brains see it.
Waterfall illusion. The Illusions Index. (n.d.-a). https://www.illusionsindex.org/i/waterfall-illusion
Efstathiou, A., & Morant, R. B. (1966). Persistence of the waterfall illusion after-effect as a test of brain damage. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 71(4), 300–303. https://doi-org.ezproxy.stockton.edu/10.1037/h0023602
The way our mind works is really interesting. I remember seeing this "illusion" as a child, staring at it for minutes and then watching everything start to change shape. The demo made it hard to read your post haha! I love how you explained it so concisely, made it way easier for me to understand.
ReplyDeleteThese types of illusions almost provide a trick-like effect. Your conscious brain knows how the illusion is moving but your mind interprets in in a different way.
ReplyDeleteThis is such an interesting phenomenon. Our brains work so fast, yet have a hard time making sense of the change.
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