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 perception 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, colour, size, position, tilt, movement),
- cognitive illusions, the result of unconscious inferences.
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