CognitionMay 1, 2020
Eyebomb Your Brain
How googly eyes hack your visual circuits
Stories by Stephen L. Macknik
Stephen L. Macknik is a professor of opthalmology, neurology, and physiology and pharmacology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Along with Susana Martinez-Conde and Sandra Blakeslee, he is author of the Prisma Prize-winning Sleights of Mind. Their forthcoming book, Champions of Illusion, will be published by Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
OpinionJanuary 23, 2020
Twenty-Eight Shades of Shoes
New research using Crocs explains “the dress”
CognitionDecember 12, 2019
A Pair of Crocs to Match the Dress
New research casts light on viral illusions
NeuroscienceOctober 22, 2019
True Colors Shining Through
This illusion turns gray shades into rainbows
NeuroscienceAugust 27, 2019
A New Type of Visual Prosthesis
The NIH’s director showcases a project to develop a brain implant that would restore sight
BehaviorAugust 20, 2019
When a Still Life Comes Alive
This artist’s paintings walk among us
NeuroscienceJuly 11, 2019
The Magic in Your Eyes
What spectators’ gaze reveals about the conjuring arts
BehaviorApril 2, 2019
Remembering the Great Tomsoni
Johnny Thompson’s magical insights informed neuroscience
BehaviorFebruary 13, 2019
The Neurology of the Soul on Valentine's Day
A new play that touches on the science of love and consciousness launches off-Broadway
NeuroscienceDecember 1, 2018
Your Brain Sees Ambiguous Language as a Type of Illusion
‘The Chicken is Ready to Eat’ has two meanings. A new study shows how your neurons decide.
NeuroscienceAugust 30, 2018
Take a Video Tour of My Lab to Learn How Eye Movements Frame Perception
We feel we see the world around us with high fidelity, all the time. But it's an illusion made possible by our eye movements
BehaviorAugust 7, 2018
M. C. Escher's Exhibition in Brooklyn Opened My Eyes
A magnificent exhibition of original M. C. Escher prints available to the public at Industry City in Brooklyn, N.Y. If you live in NYC, you have no excuse but to go. If you don't, make an excuse and come and see it!
NeuroscienceJuly 4, 2018
An illusion to Celebrate Uncle Sam's Birthday
Uncle Sam’s eyes and finger seem to be pointed directly at you, no matter your viewing angle
BehaviorMay 16, 2018
It's That Dress Again, but Now for Your Ears
In February 2015 a viral internet image of a dress took the world by storm. Now there’s new illusion—for the ears—that speaks to each of us each in different ways: The Yanny–Laurel Illusion
BehaviorMarch 23, 2018
Celebrating Sun–Earth Day: A Total Eclipse of the Mind
The art and perception behind the 2017 total solar eclipse
BehaviorJanuary 16, 2018
Illusions from the National Archives in New York City
National Archives of New York City archivist Christopher Zarr reveals how deeply the art form of camouflage was pursued 100 years ago during World War I
BehaviorDecember 22, 2017
The Senses at the American Museum of Natural History
The exhibit at the AMNH is a new and totally fresh look at our sensory systems, with demonstrations that you won’t see elsewhere
BehaviorOctober 4, 2017
The 2017 Best Illusion of the Year Contest!
The world’s best new illusions are available for your vote! Read about the science behind them here!
Mental HealthJune 14, 2017
A Virtual Trick to Remove Racial Bias
A team of researches changed people’s races in a full-body virtual reality immersion experiment
CognitionMay 1, 2017
Making Impossible Objects with Mirrors
Most of us don’t really understand how mirrors work, which makes for some fun reflective deception
BehaviorApril 21, 2017
David Byrne's Joan of Arc: Into the Fire
David Byrne’s musical at The Public Theater is an achievement rich in sensory stimulation and delightful deception.
CognitionMarch 1, 2017
Deploying Deception on the Battlefield
To avoid or at least control conflict, militaries often play tricks on their opponents’ perceptions
BehaviorFebruary 22, 2017
Calderon's 2 Dreams
These 17th-century plays resonate the fundamental, timeless, question of human existence: How can we know that life is not a dream?
BehaviorJanuary 6, 2017
Off-the-Top Is an Off-Broadway Mix of Rap and Neuroscience
Freestylin’ rapper Baba Brinkman and neuroscientist Heather Berlin drop a brainy beat at the Huron Club every Wednesday for the next seven weeks