Beginning with the evolution of visual perspective, McNaughton reveals how and why illusions work. She offers optical illusions to suggest to readers that the world they perceive is in fact a complex product of their brains, constructed from the sensory data. Illustrations.

Do things always look smaller when they are further away? Can something be clearly visible but not there at all? Is it ever possible to have a direct and true experience of reality? Are you sure? In this delightful and informative little book Phoebe McNaughton takes us on a classical journey through the history of artistic perspective, showing how the eye can be tricked and confused, the brain befuddled, and the philosopher inside all of us awakened by the nature of illusion. WOODEN BOOKS are small but packed with information. "e;Fascinating"e; FINANCIAL TIMES. "e;Beautiful"e; LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS. "e;Rich and Artful"e; THE LANCET. "e;Genuinely mind-expanding"e; FORTEAN TIMES. "e;Excellent"e; NEW SCIENTIST. "e;Stunning"e; NEW YORK TIMES. Small books, big ideas.

Beginning with the evolution of visual perspective, McNaughton reveals how and why illusions work. She offers optical illusions to suggest to readers that the world they perceive is in fact a complex product of their brains, constructed from the sensory data. Illustrations.

Explores Dali's experiments with perspectives, offering more than one hundred color and sixty-one black and white illustrations of the artist's optical illusions.

For over twenty years, psychologist Professor Richard Wiseman has examined the quirky science of everyday life. In Quirkology , he navigates the backwaters of human behavior, discovering the tell-tale signs that give away a liar, the secret science behind speed-dating and personal ads, and what a person's sense of humor reveals about the innermost workings of their mind- all along paying tribute to others who have carried out similarly weird and wonderful work. Wiseman's research has involved secretly observing people as they go about their daily business, conducting unusual experiments in art exhibitions and music concerts, and even staging fake sainces in allegedly haunted buildings. With thousands of research subjects from all over the world, including enamored couples, unwitting pedestrians, and guileless dinner guests, Wiseman presents a fun, clever, and unexpected picture of the human mind.

A gallery of over one hundred optical illusions, each with an explanation.

Rings of seahorses seem to rotate and butterflies seems to transform into warriors right on the page. Astonishing creations of visual trickery by masters of the art, such as Escher, Dali, and Archimbolo make this breathtaking collection the definitive book of optical illusions. Includes an illuminating Foreword by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Hofstadter.

From impossible shapes to three-dimensional sketches and trick art, you won't believe your eyes as you learn to draw optical illusions in graphite and colored pencil. Perfect for beginning artists, The Art of Drawing Optical Illusions begins with a basic introduction to optical illusions and how they work. Jonathan Stephen Harris then guides you step-by-step in creating mind-blowing pencil drawings, starting with basic optical illusions and progressing to more difficult two- and three-dimensional trick art. Perspective and dimension are difficult to capture for both beginning and established artists, but now you can hone those skills in the most unique way possible, while also exercising your mind with these brain-boosting, unbelievable tricks!

Is seeing always believing? In the world of optical illusions, what the eye beholds is often a mystery waiting to be unravelled. INCREDIBLE OPTICAL ILLUSIONS opens the door to this world of magic and visual deception and explains in vivid detail the mechanics of how optical illusions work.

How 33 ancient, familiar and new optical illusions work, with 150 examples.