Size Illusion

This trick is about the size illusion, also called the two tables trick, which falls under the optical illusions. This illusion is making the mind perceive things that are not there. It's amazing how the psychology of the mind works. To see other examples check our Brain Tricks main page.

Tips for the size illusion: Compare the two tables in the neighbouring figure. Which would be easier to get through a narrow door? How do size and shape of the two table tops compare?
Now either press the ‘Run’ button, or click and drag the left table top on top of the right table. If you click & drag far off that parallelogram you can rotate it and test whether it fits.

Notes: The two table tops certainly do not look alike! This phenomenon plays on the interchange of 2- and 3-dimensional interpretation of the figure. If the figure depicted a real-world scene, the real tables certainly would have a different shape.

Trick of the Day: The moon when close to the horizon looks bigger than when it's in heart of the sky. That's because when it's close to the horizon, your eyes sees it in comparison to other parts of the horizon, such as trees, mountains and houses, and that's what makes it look bigger. For more tricks of the day check Tricks of the Day.

Other than the size illusion trick, the mind can be fooled in different ways within the subject of the optical illusions. It's no longer accurate to say "what you see is what you get". Now choose a related page, or simply click on previous/ next.