A Simple but Powerful Theory of the Moon Illusion
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Eye-Movement Studies of Visual Face Perception
Eye-movement studies of visual face perception Joseph Arizpe A dissertation submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University College London Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience University College London 2015 1 Declaration I, Joseph Arizpe, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. 2 Abstract This thesis investigates factors influencing eye-movement patterns during face perception, the relationship of eye-movement patterns to facial recognition performance, and methodological considerations impacting the detection of differences in eye-movement patterns. In particular, in the first study (chapter 2), in which the basis of the other-race effect was investigated, differences in eye- movement patterns during recognition of own- versus other-race (African, Chinese) faces were found for Caucasian participants. However, these eye- movement differences were subtle and analysis-dependent, indicating that the discrepancy in prior reports regarding the presence or absence of such differences are due to variability in statistical sensitivity of analysis methods across studies. The second and third studies (chapters 3 and 4) characterized visuomotor factors, specifically pre-stimulus start position and distance, which strongly influence subsequent eye-movement patterns during face perception. An overall bias in fixation patterns to the opposite side of the face induced by start position and an increasing undershoot of the first ordinal fixation with increasing start distance were found. These visuomotor influences were not specific to faces and did not depend on the predictability of the location of the upcoming stimulus. -
The Moon Illusion and Size–Distance Scaling—Evidence for Shared Neural Patterns
The Moon Illusion and Size–Distance Scaling—Evidence for Shared Neural Patterns Ralph Weidner1*, Thorsten Plewan1,2*, Qi Chen1, Axel Buchner3, Peter H. Weiss1,4, and Gereon R. Fink1,4 Abstract ■ A moon near to the horizon is perceived larger than a moon pathway areas including the lingual and fusiform gyri. The func- at the zenith, although—obviously—the moon does not change tional role of these areas was further explored in a second ex- its size. In this study, the neural mechanisms underlying the periment. Left V3v was found to be involved in integrating “moon illusion” were investigated using a virtual 3-D environ- retinal size and distance information, thus indicating that the ment and fMRI. Illusory perception of an increased moon size brain regions that dynamically integrate retinal size and distance was associated with increased neural activity in ventral visual play a key role in generating the moon illusion. ■ INTRODUCTION psia; Sperandio, Kaderali, Chouinard, Frey, & Goodale, Although the moon does not change its size, the moon 2013; Enright, 1989; Roscoe, 1989). near to the horizon is perceived as relatively larger com- One concept of size constancy scaling implies that the pared with when it is located at the zenith. This phenome- retinal image size and the estimated distance of an object non is called the “moon illusion” and is one of the oldest are conjointly considered, thereby enabling constant size visual illusions known (Ross & Plug, 2002). Despite exten- perception of objects at different distances (Kaufman & sive research, no consensus has been reached regarding Kaufman, 2000). With respect to the moon illusion, appar- the underlying perceptual and neural correlates (Ross & ent distance theories, for example, propose that “the per- Plug, 2002; Hershenson, 1989). -
The Simplest Method to Measure the Geocentric Lunar Distance: a Case of Citizen Science
The simplest method to measure the geocentric lunar distance: a case of citizen science Jorge I. Zuluaga1,a, Juan C. Figueroa2,b and Ignacio Ferrin1,c 1 FACom - Instituto de Física - FCEN, Universidad de Antioquia, Calle 70 No. 52-21, Medellín, Colombia 2 Independent Software Developer ABSTRACT We present the results of measuring the geocentric lunar distance using what we propose is the simplest method to achieve a precise result. Although lunar distance has been systematically measured to a precision of few millimeters using powerful lasers and retroreflectors installed on the moon by the Apollo missions, the method devised and applied here can be readily used by nonscientist citizens (e.g. amateur astronomers or students) and it requires only a good digital camera. After launching a citizen science project called the “Aristarchus Campaign”, intended to involve astronomy enthusiasts in scientific measurement of the Lunar Eclipse of 15 April 2014, we compiled and measured a series of pictures obtained by one of us (J.C. Figueroa). These measurements allowed us to estimate the lunar distance to a precision of ~3%. We describe here how to perform the measurements and the method to calculate from them the geocentric lunar distance using only the pictures time stamps and a precise measurement of the instantaneous lunar apparent diameter. Our aim here is not to provide any improved measurement of a well- known astronomical quantity, but rather to demonstrate how the public could be engaged in scientific endeavors and how using simple instrumentation and readily available technological devices such as smartphones and digital cameras, any person can measure the local Universe as ancient astronomers did. -
The Moon and Eclipses
The Moon and Eclipses ASTR 101 September 14, 2018 • Phases of the moon • Lunar month • Solar eclipses • Lunar eclipses • Eclipse seasons 1 Moon in the Sky An image of the Earth and the Moon taken from 1 million miles away. Diameter of Moon is about ¼ of the Earth. www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/from-a-million-miles-away-nasa-camera-shows-moon-crossing-face-of-earth • Moonlight is reflected sunlight from the lunar surface. Moon reflects about 12% of the sunlight falling on it (ie. Moon’s albedo is 12%). • Dark features visible on the Moon are plains of old lava flows, formed by ancient volcanic eruptions – When Galileo looked at the Moon through his telescope, he thought those were Oceans, so he named them as Marias. – There is no water (or atmosphere) on the Moon, but still they are known as Maria – Through a telescope large number of craters, mountains and other geological features visible. 2 Moon Phases Sunlight Sunlight full moon New moon Sunlight Sunlight Quarter moon Crescent moon • Depending on relative positions of the Earth, the Sun and the Moon we see different amount of the illuminated surface of Moon. 3 Moon Phases first quarter waxing waxing gibbous crescent Orbit of the Moon Sunlight full moon new moon position on the orbit View from the Earth waning waning gibbous last crescent quarter 4 Sun Earthshine Moon light reflected from the Earth Earth in lunar sky is about 50 times brighter than the moon from Earth. “old moon" in the new moon's arms • Night (shadowed) side of the Moon is not completely dark. -
Hershenson (1992) Size-Distance Invariance. Kinetic Invariance Is
Perception & Psychophysics 1992, 51 (6), 541-548 Size-distance invariance: Kinetic invariance is different from static invariance MAURICE HERSHENSON Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts The static form of the size-distance invariance hypothesisasserts that a given proximal stimu- lus size (visual angle) determines a unique and constant ratio of perceived-object size to perceived object distance. A proposed kinetic invariance hypothesis asserts that a changing proximal stim- ulus size (an expanding or contracting solid visual angle) produces a constant perceived size and a changing perceived distance such that the instantaneous ratio of perceived size to perceived distance is determined by the instantaneous value of visual angle. The kinetic invariance hy- pothesis requires a new concept, an operating constraint, to mediate between the proximal ex- pansion or contraction pattern and the perception of rigid object motion in depth. As a conse- quence of the operating constraint, expansion and contraction patterns are automatically represented in consciousness as rigid objects. In certain static situations, the operation of this constraint produces the anomalous perceived-size-perceived-distance relations called the size- distance paradox. The size-distance invariance hypothesis (SDIH) asserts STATIC INVARIANCE RELATIONSHIP that a given proximal stimulus size (visual angle) deter- mines a unique constant ratio of perceived object size to Traditional Formulation perceived object distance (Epstein, 1977; Epstein, Park, The traditional form of the SDIH is derived from the & Casey, 1961; Kilpatrick & Ittelson, 1953). Is it possible analysis of stationary objects (Epstein, 1977; Gilinsky, to explain the moon illusion and retain this form of the 1951; Ittelson, 1951a; Johansson, 1977; Kilpatrick & It- SDIH? To do so, Kaufman and Rock (1962, 1989; Rock telson, 1953; Weintraub & Gardner, 1970). -
Projects of Peter Kokh, Crew #45 Commander
Projects of Peter Kokh, Crew #45 Commander Setting a Moonlike Atmosphere in a very Marslike Setting We have little control over the Marslike geology of the MDRS surroundings - sedimentary and water- carved. However, in a test performed in a brief visit on December 8, 2005, we found that wraparound green tint sunglasses worn inside the EVA Suit helmets do a lot to neutralize the orange hues, and to notably gray and whiten the landscape. We will also apply, in a clean-remove fashion, green auto window tint to the interior of the Hab upper deck portholes. Another trick will be to suspend an Earth globe at the right distance outside one of the Hab portholes to show the apparent size and phase of Earth as it would appear suspended over the lunar horizon. Inside the Hab, the table will be set with dishes that look like they might have been made on the early lunar frontier. For recreation, there will be Moon-theme films, games that could be manufactured on the frontier, “made-on-Luna”musical instruments, and Moon-”filk”: lunar words set to well-known melodies. Our diet and menu selections, chosen by Executive Officer Laurel Ladd, will attempt to model what will be available on the early frontier. Lunar Analog EVA Outings Design It will be a bigger challenge to conduct EVA, space-suited excursions, into the areas surrounding the Mars Hab, that maintain a “we’re on the Moon!” illusion. Two particularly moonlike areas have been identified and will be visited during regular EVA excursions. Nighttime EVA activities are traditionally discouraged for safety reasons. -
Is the Moon Really Larger Near the Horizon?
EXPLORATION 2: INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MOON! Is the Moon really larger near the horizon? he purpose of this exploration is to design an experiment, using the telescope, to investigate the apparent size of the TMoon when it is near the horizon, compared to when it is higher in the sky. • To the eye, the Moon appears much larger when it is near horizon. GRADE LEVEL: 7-12 • Yet when the Moon is near the horizon, it is actually slightly further from Earth than when viewed higher in the sky. If TIME OF YEAR: anything, we would expect the horizon Moon to look smaller. Anytime, but best when Moon is nearly full (see text). • Measurement is important because our senses and our intuition SCIENCE STANDARDS: are often a poor guide to reality. Earth-Moon system Science as inquiry MATERIALS NEEDED: The Moon when it is near the horizon is one of nature's stunning 4Online telescopes (or use sights. It looks huge, and so close that you could practically touch it. archived images.) 4 MOImage, software Can it really be that large? What's going on? provided 4 Earth globe This investigation offers students important opportunities to learn 4 Printer (optional) about how and why we do science—from question-posing, to TIME NEEDED: forming a hypothesis, to designing an experiment, gathering 2 class periods evidence and coming to a conclusion. TEXTBOOK LINK: Students first discuss why the Moon might look so much larger when it is near the horizon. They must draw on their understandings of how the world works: What factors might influence the perceived size of an object? Second, as they reason from a simple Earth-Moon model, they are confronted with contradictory evidence: Though the Moon looks larger near the horizon, it ought to look smaller, because it is farthest From the Ground Up!: Moon 1 © 2003 Smithsonian Institution away there. -
The Moon Illusion Author(S): Frances Egan Source: Philosophy of Science, Vol. 65, No. 4 (Dec., 1998), Pp. 604-623 Published
The Moon Illusion Author(s): Frances Egan Source: Philosophy of Science, Vol. 65, No. 4 (Dec., 1998), pp. 604-623 Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Philosophy of Science Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/188575 . Accessed: 17/02/2011 14:32 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at . http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=ucpress. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. The University of Chicago Press and Philosophy of Science Association are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Philosophy of Science. http://www.jstor.org The Moon Illusion* Frances Egantl Rutgers University Ever since Berkeleydiscussed the problemat length in his Essay Towarda New Theory of Vision,theorists of vision have attempted to explain why the moon appears larger on the horizon than it does at the zenith. -
Seeing Black and White
Seeing Black and White Alan Gilchrist OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS Seeing Black and White This page intentionally left blank SEEING BLACK AND WHITE Alan Gilchrist 1 2006 1 Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further Oxford University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education. Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Copyright ᭧ 2006 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gilchrist, Alan. Seeing black and white / by Alan Gilchrist. p. cm. (Oxford psychology series; no. 40) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-19-518716-4 ISBN-13 978-0-19-518716-8 1. Imagery (Psychology). I. Title. II. Series. BF241.L54 2006 153—dc22 2006006283 987654321 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper This book is dedicated to the memory of Irvin Rock, my wonderful mentor and warm friend. This page intentionally left blank Foreword And God said let Gilchrist be and all was light. -
The Moon Illusion Explained Introduction and Summary
The Moon Illusion Explained Finally! Why the Moon Looks Big at the Horizon and Smaller When Higher Up. Don McCready Professor Emeritus, Psychology Department University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Whitewater, WI 53190 Email to: mccreadd at uww.edu Introduction and Summary [Revised 12/07/02] For many centuries, scientists have been puzzled by the illusion that the full moon at the horizon usually looks larger than it does later, at higher elevations toward the zenith of the sky. Many explanations (theories) have been offered. But, it is fair to say that the two dozen (or so) scientists most familiar with current research on the illusion have not yet accepted any one theory. The jury is still out. The theory reviewed in this article is relatively quite new (McCready, 1983, 1985, 1986). It begins with the basic assumption that, when most people say "the moon looks larger," they are referring primarily to the moon's angular subtense (McCready, 1965). That is, the horizon moon looks a larger angular size than the zenith moon. That experience is imitated if you look at the circles in the figure at the right, because the lower circle subtends a larger angle at your eye than the upper circle does. Angular Size Illusion. For the moon, that appearance is known as the moon illusion, because the angle the moon's diameter subtends at your eye measures about 1⁄2 degree of arc no matter where the moon is in the sky. That is, there is no physical (optical) reason why the horizon moon should look larger than the zenith moon: For instance, it has been known for centuries that the horizon moon is not "magnified' by the earth's atmosphere. -
Vision and Mind: Selected Readings in the Philosophy of Perception
ision and Mind Selected Readings in the Philosophy of Perception edited by Alva Noë and Evan Thompson Vision and Mind This Page Intentionally Left Blank Vision and Mind Selected Readings in the Philosophy of Perception edited by Alva Noë and Evan Thompson A Bradford Book The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England © 2002 Massachusetts Institute of Technology All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher. This book was set in Sabon by SNP Best-set Typesetter Ltd., Hong Kong. Printed and bound in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Vision and mind : selected readings in the philosophy of perception / edited by Alva Noë and Evan Thompson. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-262-14078-0 (alk. paper)—ISBN 0-262-64047-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Perception (Philosophy) I. Noë, Alva. II. Thompson, Evan. B828.45 .V565 2002 121¢.34—dc21 2002023533 Contents Preface vii Sources ix 1 Introduction 1 Alva Noë and Evan Thompson 2 Selections from Phenomenology of Perception 15 Maurice Merleau-Ponty 3 Some Remarks about the Senses 35 H. P. Grice 4 The Intentionality of Sensation: A Grammatical Feature 55 G. E. M. Anscombe 5 A Theory of Direct Visual Perception 77 James J. Gibson 6 Perception and Its Objects 91 P. F. Strawson 7 Perceptions as Hypotheses 111 Richard L. Gregory 8 Veridical Hallucination and Prosthetic Vision 135 David Lewis 9 Perception, Vision and Causation 151 Paul Snowdon 10 How Direct Is Visual Perception?: Some Reflections on Gibson’s “Ecological Approach” 167 Jerry A. -
The Moon Tilt Illusion
THE MOON TILT ILLUSION ANDREA K. MYERS-BEAGHTON AND ALAN L. MYERS Abstract. The moon tilt illusion is the startling discrepancy between the direction of the light beam illuminating the moon and the direction of the sun. The illusion arises because the observer erroneously expects a light ray between sun and moon to appear as a line of constant slope according to the positions of the sun and the moon in the sky. This expectation does not correspond to the reality that observation by direct vision or a camera is according to perspective projection, for which the observed slope of a straight line in three-dimensional object space changes according to the direction of observation. Comparing the observed and expected directions of incoming light at the moon, we derive an equation for the magnitude of the moon tilt illusion that can be applied to all configurations of sun and moon in the sky. 1. Introduction Figure 1. Photograph of the moon tilt illusion. Picture taken one hour after sunset with the moon in the southeast. Camera pointed upwards 45◦ from the horizon with bottom of camera parallel to the horizon. The photograph in Figure 1 provides an example of the moon tilt illusion. The moon's illumination is observed to be coming from above, even though the moon is Date: June 30, 2014. 1 2 ANDREA K. MYERS-BEAGHTON AND ALAN L. MYERS high in the sky and the sun had set in the west one hour before this photo was taken. The moon is 45◦ above the horizon in the southeast, 80% illuminated by light from the sun striking the moon at an angle of 17◦ above the horizontal, as shown by the arrow drawn on the photograph.