The Neural Correlate Society is an international organization dedicated to the study of the neural and psychological correlates of the experience of perception and cognition. Every year, the NCS holds a competition to find the ‘Best Illusion of the Year’ from submissions from around the world. This year, the prestigious competition has announced its chosen winner. In this article, we will take a look at the Best Illusion of the Year for 2021 along with the runners-up and some of the other entries.
What is the Best Illusion of the Year Award?
The Best Illusion of the Year contest is an international competition created by the Neural Correlate Society to recognize the most interesting and beautiful visual illusions from across the world. For the past 16 years, the contest has showcased the latest developments in neuroscience, while also illustrating the various ways in which the human brain can unlock the mysteries of how we perceive the world around us.
The contest is run annually, with entries being accepted from June to November, and the winner being announced in December. This year’s entries, which focused on the theme of “illusions and perception during the Covid-19 pandemic” were particularly fascinating, as they revealed how our daily lives have changed during the pandemic.
The 2021 Winner: The Corona Illusion
The 2021 Best Illusion of the Year award was presented to Dr. Peter Tse of Dartmouth College for his submission, named “The Corona Illusion”. This illusion is based on an image of a virus-like pattern that appears to possess depth and movement. Tse explains that because this pattern is based on a spiral, it appears to have a three-dimensional shape, even though it is actually just a two dimensional flat circle.
The effect of this illusion is made even more impressive when a shadow is cast upon it, as it appears to transform the flat circle into a cone with a solid three-dimensional form. According to Tse, “The illusion of depth causes us to perceive a solid structure with a three-dimensional shape. In this way, it perfectly captures how our perception of reality can quickly be turned upside down in the face of a challenge.”
Runners Up in the 2021 Competition
The runner up for this year’s competition was the Ebbinghaus size-distance illusion, submitted by Professor Mitchell Green of University College London. This illusion presents two circles, one larger than the other, which appear to move in opposite directions when the viewer focuses on one at a time. The largest circle appears to move away even when it is not moving, while the smaller circle appears to move closer.
In addition to the winner and runner up, there were also a number of other notable entries for this year’s competition. These include:
• The Prismatic Illusion – submitted by M.D. Srinivasan of India, this illusion uses the power of prisms to project an image from one page to another.
• The Koan Illusion – submitted by Rebecca Anderson of the University of California, Berkeley, this is a composite of different puzzle images that creates a dizzying optical illusion.
• The Uniluminous Illusion – submitted by Lorenzo Bellini of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, this illusion uses a high-contrast black and white image of a person’s face to make it look like light is shining off of the person’s face when it actually is not.
• The Sigma Outlier Illusion – submitted by Gerd Hösel of Germany, this illusion appears to take a simple mathematical equation and turn it into a vivid display of moving optical illusions.
• The Turing Lock Illusion – submitted by Professor Aaron Kozbelt of California State University Fullerton, this illusion creates the impression of rotating lines, though they never actually move.
The Best Illusion of the Year is always a fascinating competition, and this year was no exception. The 2021 winner, the Corona Illusion, perfectly captures the theme of perception and illusion in the face of a global pandemic, and the runners up demonstrate just how creative and innovative people can be with visual illusions. We look forward to seeing what next year’s competition will bring!