What does your brain do? The House of Illusions Hamburg explains it to you!

Have you ever been firmly convinced that you saw something that later turned out to be an illusion? Illusions are phenomena in which our perception deviates from reality and our brain is put to the test. Quite fascinating, isn't it?

What types of illusions are there?

But how does this distorted interpretation of our surroundings actually come about? Here we can distinguish between 3 types of illusions.

1. The optical illusion

We are particularly fascinated by optical illusions because it is always amazing how easily our visual system can be fooled. Perspectives, contrasts and movements are used to deceive our eyes and are then misinterpreted by our brain. At the Museum of Illusions Hamburg, we have a number of optical illusions in store for you. One of the most famous is probably Rubin's Vase, which awaits you right at the beginning of the exhibition. First described by the Danish psychologist Edgar Rubin, the illusion shows the image of a vase. On closer inspection, however, you can see that the silhouette of the vase also represents the profiles of two faces facing each other. This is a good example of a so-called "tilt figure", in which our brain switches back and forth between two different illusions.

2. The cognitive illusion

Cognitive illusions play with our brain in particular, as they target its biases: Our brain always wants to process information quickly and efficiently. And that's why it resorts to heuristics and mental shortcuts.

A popular cognitive illusion - and probably the front-runner of the most photographed rooms in our museum - is the Ames Room. Named after its inventor Adelbert Ames Jr., the entire room here is an illusion. Unlike most rooms our brains are familiar with, the Ames Room is not rectangular. Due to its trapezoidal shape, people moving around in this room appear to drastically increase or decrease in size. This illusion shows how our brain relies on the assumption that rooms are rectangular and flat. The Ames Room shows us how strongly our spatial perception is influenced by these assumptions and how easily our brain can be deceived by a skillful design of our surroundings.

3. The acoustic illusion

The acoustic illusion deceives our hearing. We then perceive tones and sounds differently than they actually are. A well-known example of this is the Shepard scale. With this sequence of tones, it sounds as if the scale is endlessly ascending or descending without ever reaching an end. Our hearing is deceived by the fact that several sine tones are superimposed. Here, too, our brain tries to create a meaningful sequence and is therefore the involuntary main player in the successful illusion.

The role of our brain plays in illusions

We have now learnt about various illusions, but why does our brain actually tend to deceive us? We have already established that we want to process information quickly and efficiently. This function is often very helpful and is certainly a considerable strength of the human brain. However, it can also lead to misinterpretations and then we are deceived.

Reasons for this are, for example:

Fast processing

Our brain is designed to process information quickly in order to be able to act quickly. It therefore uses mental shortcuts to process the huge amount of data that comes at us every second. These shortcuts sometimes lead to illusions or errors.

Learned assumptions

The brain often uses experience as the basis for its interpretations. These learnt assumptions can lead to deception when unexpected, new stimuli occur.

Pattern recognition

Actually, his ace up his sleeve: Our brain is excellent at recognizing patterns and making meaningful connections. What basically enables us to understand the world and make predictions for the future leads to us interpreting patterns and meanings in the world of illusions where there are none.

Combination of the senses

The brain receives and combines information from our different senses. If these senses are misleading or do not fit together, this can confuse our brain and lead to deception.

And what do we learn from this now?

Basically, our brain works very well. It works quickly and efficiently and gets us through everyday life well. But things are not always as they seem! Knowing that there are cognitive deceptions and illusions and that our perceptions do not always reflect objective reality can sharpen our awareness. Embracing illusions can help you to think more critically and reflectively and broaden your horizons.

And it also makes the world even more colorful and exciting!

Experience the fascinating world of illusions in Hamburg

Fancy an adventure? The Museum of Illusions has a number of illusions in store for its visitors and is a popular destination for the whole family. Come and visit our exhibition in Hamburg city centre and put your senses to the test.

Click here for tickets.