Thursday, June 7, 2012

Motion Aftereffects

One of the visual perceptions that I find to be especially intriguing is motion aftereffects. Motion aftereffects occur after viewing a moving stimulus for 30 to 60 seconds and then viewing a stationary stimulus. The stationary stimulus appears to move! The example of this occurring that is given in the book is after one stares at a waterfall for too long. However, I was immediately reminded of when Guitar Hero was the big thing. Often, I would play through a few songs and when I looked up, everything appeared to  fall downward, contrary to the motion that by guitar frets had been doing a few moments before. Motion aftereffects occur because the nerve cells that signal motion in the direction the stimulus is moving begin to fatigue. Our perception then swings backward in a pendulum effect, over-shooting "normal" sight and overcompensating, creating the reverse motion that we perceive afterward.

Below is a video I found online which takes motion after effects to the next level. Rather than a vertical motion, its swirls alternate clockwise and counter-clockwise motion, promising to completely warp your perception.


Posted by at

4 comments:

  1. Amy RubinJune 8, 2012 at 8:26 AM

    I think this topic is one of the most interesting topics. It is really amazing how different illusions appear to us.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownJune 8, 2012 at 10:33 AM

    Motion after effect is so amazing. I never really noticed it before the power point presentation of the waterfall effect. It is so fascinating to learn the reasoning behind why we perceive things the way that we do.

    ReplyDelete
  3. mbcapelliJune 10, 2012 at 3:11 PM

    I would see the same thing after everytime I played Guitar Hero! Now I know what it is and what to call it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. mbcapelliJune 10, 2012 at 3:12 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)