Leaning tower illusion

Leaning tower illusion

The Leaning Tower Illusion is an optical illusion that presents two identical images of the Leaning Tower of Pisa side by side. Although the images are identical, we have the impression that the tower on the right leans more, as if photographed from a different angle. [http://illusioncontest.neuralcorrelate.com/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=114 Best Visual Illusion of the Year contest 2007] ] [ [http://mvr.mcgill.ca/Fred/Papers/KingdomYoonessiGheorghiu_2007.pdf The Leaning Tower illusion: a new illusion of perspective] ] The illusion was discovered by Frederick Kingdom, Ali Yoonessi and Elena Gheorghiu at McGill University, and won the first prize in the Best Visual Illusion of the Year Contest 2007.

In the paper the authors suggest that the illusion happens because when two identical towers rise in parallel the eyes expect perspective convergence of their corresponding lines. Since the lines do not converge, they are assumed to be non-parallel, i.e. diverging.

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