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Steve Higgins is a psychology graduate student at an online university. He hopes that the three weeks and $29.95 that he is spending on his Ph.D. will get him a job at a Tier 1 research university. Do online universities have postdocs? Ok...just kidding, Steve is a real graduate student at a real school.
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Category: Art • Psychology • Vision
Posted on: December 23, 2007 8:05 AM, by Steve Higgins
I've entitled this illusion 'The Purple Nurple' Exciting eh? I haven't actually seen this particular one before today so I thought I'd throw it up.... so here it is:
I've finally figured out where the heck this illusion has come from! It is actually called "Sea Sickness" and is by Walt Anthony.
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Comments
"I haven't actually seen this particular one before today so I thought I'd throw up...."
Corrected.
Posted by: Syckls | December 23, 2007 8:57 AM
Interesting that it only works when I don't look at it. As soon as I focus on it, especially the center, it stops vibrating.
Posted by: Bob | December 23, 2007 4:51 PM
If you hold your eyes still it stops moving, but if you flick your eyes about the page, it starts up again.
Posted by: Steve | December 23, 2007 5:30 PM
I only see it shift a little when I move my focus to and from the very center. I assume it's supposed to be one of those that constantly moves?
Posted by: Andrew | December 24, 2007 7:22 AM
...that illusion is making my eyes itch. x_x
Posted by: M | December 24, 2007 4:57 PM
It only moves a little bit for me... but thats enough.
Makes me feel like a bad night in Tijauna.
Posted by: alcoolworld | December 24, 2007 5:45 PM
Er... The Purple Nurple is the name of a gay club themed area on Furrymuck :>
I cant get it to work. It looks perfectly stable to me, wherever I point my eyes and however fast or slow I move them.
Posted by: Suricou Raven | December 25, 2007 5:39 AM
Cool illusion! Interesting that it stops when eyes are fixed in the middle.
Try to circle your eyes around the outermost layer of diamonds.
Posted by: Martin | December 26, 2007 5:27 AM
About the ugliest illusion I've seen yet. The garish colors must have something to do with the minor illusion. Color fatigue? I only noticed some "movement" when I moved my eyes across an outer area, such as around the circle of diamonds.
Why not have a ranking of illusions by: 1) perceived movement, 2) aesthetics, 3) color fatigue, and 4) patterns?
Posted by: joekdoe | December 26, 2007 10:19 AM
Very cool illusion!
Posted by: Eyes for Lies | December 26, 2007 11:57 AM
Great as a desktop background.
Posted by: Brennan | December 26, 2007 2:51 PM
This is similar - http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/7200/trippyql1.gif
Posted by: Tarun | December 27, 2007 4:44 AM
I'm w/o my printer at the moment. Does it work the same color printed onto paper?
Posted by: BJ | December 30, 2007 6:13 PM
Sorry. It just sits there doing nothing. I've tried everything. Hmmmmm...
Posted by: Myqlkc | December 31, 2007 11:52 PM
If you open up your eyes wide (as if beeing extremely surprised) and look at it, it appears frozen for me.
Posted by: Jürgen | January 3, 2008 3:46 AM
it breathes!
giving away my "age/generation" --- it has an LSD-like effect...
not that i would know what that might actually be... ; )
Posted by: mike/ | January 3, 2008 8:10 PM
I get no effect whatsoever. I gather it is supposed to move in some fashion. I can't even get it to muster a tic.
Posted by: Perry | January 3, 2008 8:52 PM
Joekdoe: do you sit around watching Simpsons episodes and then pronounce each and every one of them "Worst. Episode. Ever."?
Yeesh.
Posted by: Radio Free Atwater | January 3, 2008 8:53 PM
haha.. now that I reread that previous comment you're right on!
Posted by: Steve Higgins | January 3, 2008 8:55 PM