Orbison Illusion
Geometry under pressure: watch standard shapes melt into the background.
🧐 What do you see?▼
Focus on the red square and the blue circle. Do they look perfectly straight and round?
The red square probably looks skewed, almost like it's bulging toward you. The blue circle looks egg-shaped. But if you hide the background, you'll see they are perfectly regular shapes.
🧠 Why this works▼
Psychologist William Orbison discovered this effect in 1939. It is a member of the "geometric distortion" family, which also includes the Hering and Wundt illusions.
The brain has specialized cells for seeing orientation. The radial background lines "overload" these cells. When a regular shape is placed on top, its borders intersect the radial lines at hundreds of points. The brain miscalculates the angles at these intersections, and the shape is perceived as warped.
🧪 Try variations▼
- Vary Intensity: Changing the number of radial lines changes how "aggressive" the distortion feels.
- Movement: Try moving your head closer and further from the screen. Does the distortion seem to "breathe" or change?
❓ FAQ▼
Why use a red square?
High contrast colors like red help the brain isolate the object from the background, which paradoxically makes the background's distorting effect even more apparent.