Page 31 - (DK) How to be a GENIUS?

Aerial perspective
In landscapes with long views, your brain can use another clue
to assess distance. Called aerial perspective, it describes the
way the color of distant objects is affected by moisture or dust
in the air. It is obvious in hilly regions, as seen in this picture,
where the distant hills look paler and bluer than those closer
to the camera. When astronauts visited the Moon, which has
the absence of this effect made them think that distant
no air, the absence of this ef
n they actually were.
hills were much closer than

erent
use up to ten different
We u us s u e p up u up p up up to ten different nt
p up p to to to te ten en di dif iff ffe ff fer ere ren
W W We e use eup
ys of judging distance
We use
We use
ways ys of judging distance
way y y y y ys of j g g dg dging g di dis ist sta tance ce
W We us u use
We
W We
We
w w ways y ys of of j fj judgi
way ys of of judg
d depth, showing how
and d n dp p ep p pt pth, sh ho owi wing g ho ow
nd depth, showing how
way
w ways
n a an n n n nd depth
and d d dep
and dep ept
dep
i important it is to us.
i imp por ort rta tant nt it it is is to to to us us.
important it is to us.
rt
Light and shade
a Objects are usually lit from
above, casting shadows that vary
a
according to their shape. Your
b
brain uses this to judge shapes,
e
enabling you to tell the difference
b
between a ball and a flat disk.
T
The reaction is so instinctive that
it even works with 2-D images.
Th
hese shapes look like a dent
su
urrounded by bumps, but if
yo
ou turn the page upside down,
th ey look like a single bump
su
urrounded by dents.
O tical illusions l ou make sense
Optical illu
Information stored in your memory helps you make sens
of what you see. But it can also confuse you by applying
the wrong set of rules. In this desert mirage, the blue
“water” is really part of the sky. It appears in the wrong
place because the view is distorted by a layer of very hot
air. Since you know that it can’t be the sky, you assume
it is a reflection of the sky in a pool of water.

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An average person can tell the e
a
een
ffe
rs
et
er
d i ff fer ren c e b et wee en 2 0 0 co l o rs s,
ere
co
we
difference between 200 colors,,
ff
en
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o
f
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vi
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h
i
s
b
e
h
l
ig
ig
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p
g
fo
a
rm
i
n
rm
rt
rt
rt
all forming part of the visible light t
a
l
fo
l
ec
et
vi
ect
l
o
spectrum from red to violet.et.t.
s
p
vi
re
red
fr
fr
m
o
fr
ro
ed
tru
ru
ct
ctr
to
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to
t
29
(c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley. All Rights Reserved.
(c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley. All Rights Reserved.