Distortion illusions make an object look
smaller, bigger, longer, shorter, or a different
shape. This type of
illusion may show you the
word "life" and ask you if the lines are
straight.
Another famous illusion of this type is the
"Which line is longer?" illusion seen below.
In the Muller-Lyer illusion (left top)
the slanted lines make the horizontal line
segment AB to appear longer than line
segment CD. The two line segments
actually are of the same length.
In the Ponzo illusion (right top) the
top horizontal line seems and appear longer than
the lower horizontal line, even though the two
lines are equal in length.
Some other famous illusions of this type are the
Poggendorf illusion, the twisted cord illusion
and the café wall illusion (to
your left).
The Cafe wall illusion includes joining tiles
forming lines which appear not to be completely
parallel to each other but actually are!
