Examples of visually ambiguous patterns.

Multistable perceptual phenomena are a rare form of visual perception phenomena, characterized by an unpredictable sequence of spontaneous subjective changes. Image File history File links Ambiguouspatterns_v. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ...

Classification

Perceptual multistability can be evoked by a large number of visual patterns that are too ambiguous for the visual system to settle down on a unique interpretation. Famous examples include the Necker cube, Structure from motion, Monocular rivalry and Binocular rivalry, but many more visually ambiguous patterns are known. Because most of these images lead to an alternation between two mutually exclusive perceptual states, they are sometimes also referred to as bistable perception. - Emo Philips A word, phrase, sentence, or other communication is called ambiguous if it can be reasonably interpreted in more than one way. ... The visual system is the part of the nervous system which allows organisms to see. ... The Necker Cube is an optical illusion first published in 1832 by Swiss crystallographer Louis Albert Necker. ... It is well known that the visual system uses motion to extract information about the three-dimensional shape of objects. ... Monocular rivalry is a phenomenon of multistable perception. ... Binocular rivalry is a phenomenon of visual perception in which perception alternates between different images presented to each eye. ...

Characterization

Transitions from one percept to its alternative are called perceptual reversals. They are spontaneous and stochastic events which cannot be eliminated by intentional efforts (although some control over the alternation process is learnable). Reversal rates vary drastically between stimuli and observers, and has been found to be slower for people with Bipolar disorder ("sticky" interhemispheric switch in bipolar disorder) ^[1]. Stochastic, from the Greek stochos or goal, means of, relating to, or characterized by conjecture; conjectural; random. ... For other uses, see Bipolar. ...

Cultural history

Human interest in these phenomena can be traced back to antiquity. The fascination of multistable perception probably comes from the active nature of endogenous perceptual changes or from the dissociation of dynamic perception from constant sensory stimulation. Multistable perception was a common feature in the artwork of the Dutch lithographer M. C. Escher, who was strongly influenced by mathematical physicists such as Roger Penrose. The times before writing belong either to protohistory or to prehistory. ... The word endogenous means arising from within. Compare exogenous. ... Lithography stone and mirror-image print of a map of Munich. ... Maurits Cornelis Escher (June 17, 1898 – March 27, 1972), usually referred to as M. C. Escher, was a Dutch graphic artist known for his often mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs and mezzotints which feature impossible constructions, explorations of infinity, architecture, and tessellations. ... Sir Roger Penrose, OM, FRS (born 8 August 1931) is an English mathematical physicist and Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics at the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford and Emeritus Fellow of Wadham College. ...

Real World Examples

Photographs of craters, from either the moon or other planets including our own, can exhibit this phenomenon. Craters, in stereo imaging, such as our eyes, should appear to be pit-like structures. However in mono-vision, such as that of photographs, the elimination of our depth perception causes multistable perception to take over, and this can cause the craters to inverse their depth values and instead look like plateaus rather than pits. Sometimes rotating the image so that the photographic direction of the source of light matches a light source in the room can cause the correct perception to suddenly switch, if you always seem to perceive craters as inverted mounds.

A famous pop culture version can be seen on the TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000; during the theater segments, many people claim Crow T. Robot faces away from the movie screen rather than towards it because of multistable perception. The question has been asked enough times that Best Brains addressed it in the FAQ section of the Amazing Colossal Episode Guide. Mystery Science Theater 3000, often abbreviated MST3K, is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc. ... Crow T. Robot Crow T. Robot is a fictional character from the American science fiction comedy television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K). ... Best Brains, Inc. ... FAQ is an abbreviation for Frequently Asked Question(s). The term refers to listed questions and answers, all supposed to be frequently asked in some context, and pertaining to a particular topic. ...

See also

• Optical illusion
• Experimental Psychology
• Gestalt Psychology
• Cognitive neuroscience
• M.C. Escher
• Salvador Dalí
• Op art
• Structure from motion

An optical illusion is always characterized by visually perceived images that, at least in common sense terms, are deceptive or misleading. ... Experimental psychology is an approach to psychology that treats it as one of the natural sciences, and therefore assumes that it is susceptible to the experimental method. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The field of cognitive neuroscience concerns the scientific study of the neural mechanisms underlying cognition and is a branch of neuroscience. ... Hand with Reflecting Sphere (Self-Portrait in Spherical Mirror), 1935. ... Salvador Felipe Jacinto Dalí Domènech Marquis of Pubol (May 11, 1904 – January 23, 1989), popularly known as Salvador Dalí, was a Spanish (Catalan) artist and one of the most important painters of the 20th century. ... Op art is a term used to described certain paintings made primarily in the 1960s which exploit the fallibilty of the eye through the use of optical illusions. ... It is well known that the visual system uses motion to extract information about the three-dimensional shape of objects. ...

Bibliography

1. Alais, D & Blake, R (eds.), Binocular Rivalry, MIT Press, 2005, ISBN 0-262-01212-X
2. Kruse, P & Stalder, M (eds.), Ambiguity in Mind and Nature: Multistable Cognitive Phenomena, Springer, 1995, ISBN 0-387-57082-9

Sources

1. ^ Miller, S; Gynther B, Heslop K, Liu G, Mitchell P, Ngo T, Pettigrew J, Geffen L (2003). "Slow binocular rivalry in bipolar disorder". Psychological Medicine 33: 683?92. 

External links

• A collection of visually ambiguous patterns
• Interhemispheric switching mediates perceptual rivalry