Optical illusion

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This article is about visual perception. For the Time Requiem album, see Optical Illusion (album).

An optical illusion (also called a visual illusion) is characterized by visually perceived images that differ from objective reality. The information gathered by the eye is processed in the brain to give a percept that does not tally with a physical measurement of the stimulus source. There are three main types: literal optical illusions that create images that are different from the objects that make them, physiological ones that are the effects on the eyes and brain of excessive stimulation of a specific type (brightness, tilt, color, movement), and cognitiveillusions where the eye and brain make unconscious inferences. They can also be known as "mind games".