Florida Institute of Technology Melbourne Visual Illusions Discussion

Choose one visual illusion from the textbook or other source and discuss how this illusion works. Then explain why our visual system processes this illusion the way it does.

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An optical illusion is a mirage originated by visual system and distinguished by a visual perceptual experience that plausibly appears to diverge from reality. Troxler’s effect is one of the best optical illusions that challenges our recognition of reality.

In Toxler’s effect or Toxler fading, one focuses keenly on a specific point for a short time and a consistent stimulus away from the point of fixation vanishes. This fading is accredited to the alteration of neurons vital for comprehending stimuli in the visual system. The reason for that is the adaptation of tactile neurons which begin to ignore the less important stimulus. It takes 10 to 20 seconds for the entire image around the point to focus to fade away.

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