Dynamic Optical Illusions (Where nothing is as it seems.)

An intriguing selection of old, new and exclusive optical illusions.Many pictures are enhanced via the use of 3D and animation.

Even though a few of the optical illusions here are already popular, I have enhanced many of them by animating them in some way - rotating, squashing, switching, sliding - you name it. Also, many of the optical illusions on display I've actually made myself =) (including... The "Rotating Dot Whirlpool", "Vision distorter", "The multi-square slicer", "Tube of Illusion", "Glowing Core", "Wheel of Confusion", "Eclipse of Mars", "Vanishing Fluff", the "Bulb Swap" thing and to some extent - the "Optical Blind Spot", "Tri-lock", "Crooked Skyscraper", "Multi-cube", "Flickering Fog" and "Magic Zoomster").

At first, there doesn't seem anything unusual about this picture. I mean, it's just a bunch of diagonal lines and a slightly distorted square in the middle - right? Wrong.
Believe it or not, the 4 lines that make up the square are actually perfectly straight. In fact it /is/ a perfect square. For proof of this, the animation will swap between the two frames so you can see the square remains the same. Also check by loading the pic into your favourite art package.

Rotating dot whirlpool Wow! Try staring at this for more than 5 seconds without going crazy. Then try following it round! =) Curves constantly die out and then re-evolve as part of another curve.

Tri-curve

Each of the 3 curves shown below are sections of the circle.
Which would form the largest circle though?


(Answer at the bottom of the page.)

Skewed lines

All these tracks look as though they've come from a broken down railway track, but in actual fact, they are perfectly parallel! To prove they really are parallel, watch the small 'hairs' gradually disappear. You will see the lines as how you would expect them to be.

Primrose's field (right) This amazing illusion to the right was created by Akiyoshi Kitaoka. It already looks quite 'wavy', but try slowly moving the mouse cursor up and down the center of the image - and focus on the cursor. You should see the picture 'waving' in an incredible way. A Bulge Also created by Akiyoshi, the lines in this picture below are completely parallel would you believe?

What does this simple green signpost say?
Guess again.
Look at the bottom of
the page for the answer.

The glowing core Look into the center (white point) and stare for a while. How many colours can you see altogether in the object? You should see a purplish circle... and the 4 rotating 'wings' are tinted green. Make sure you always keep focused on the center. Once you've done this, read on... Are those four wings really green? Amazingly, they are exactly the same colour as the circle inside. Don't believe me? Well try following one of the wings round. You'll see that the colour matches the inner circle perfectly. NB. The faster the circle rotates, the better the illusion will work. Unfortunately, Explorer has great trouble displaying GIF animations faster than about 10 frames per second, so I suggest saving the animation and then using an external such as Irfanview.

What line is longer; from a to b, or from b to c? Amazingly, they're both the same length. This is perhaps the most extreme example of I have found that distorts perception of length.	Which semicircle is brighter - the left or the right half?	Can you see dark blotches on the white 'junctions' in between the corners of these black squares?	One of the most famous optical illusions, reproduced in colour!
Green Fade illusion Another illusion I created, or rather discovered accidentally, but it turns out it's a superior version of an illusion already discovered Cornsweet illusion, also known as Craik-O'Brien-Cornsweet illusion . You'll need to have your PC in 24 bit colour to see it properly. It looks as though the green bar above is getting lighter further to the right. But in actual fact, it's exactly the same shade on the far right as it is on the far left..... "Light Green" really does equal "Dark Green"!

Above: (The Multi-Square Slicer) (Once again, this looks more impressive using the Irfanview player... Right: (The Shimmering Dots) Do you find that the white dots shimmer? (illusion originally discovered by Elke Lingelbach)

The Eclipse of Mars See a new colour you've never seen before!! ...Well... at least never before on your monitor. This illusion has been voted the greatest out of all the optical illusions in the poll, and also appeared as illusion of the month at Amos Storkey's optical illusions page If the 'Glowing Core' didn't work for you, then this one surely will. The colour you are about to witness is actually true Cyan ... a colour that is heavily diluted on the vast majority of TVs and monitors (thanks to colour pollution). It's a pity one needs an optical illusion to demonstrate this, but at least you can see what you've been missing ;-) Anyway on with the illusion.... Stare at the white dot in the centre of the red circle. The longer - the better (two minutes and you'll get a much stronger effect). Always try to keep focused on the white dot. It'll be worth it. Soon after staring, you'll start to see a thin rim of light around the edge. Don't stop staring though yet! Wait another minute - keeping your head perfectly still. Once you've done this, very slowly - move your head backwards - making sure to keep your eyes focused on the dot at all times. The circle's rim will glow brilliantly with true Cyan! Keep on moving your head slowly backwards, and witness the Eclipse of Mars!... The blue/cyan colour chart to the right isn't part of the illusion, but there to demonstrate that the ultra cyan you have just seen is not in the monitor's color palette! It should be, but isn't. It's an amazing effect and something I created whilst researching the problem with monitors and their inability to display real cyan. These 2 colours (red and this exact shade of cyan) work better than any other colour combination for many reasons. Also visit Skytopia's very own Light and Colour trivia page which speaks about and demonstrates effects similar to this illusion. If you enjoyed the Eclipse of Mars, you're gonna LOVE the Eclipse of Titan (luminous green!) and Eclipse of Neptune (firey!) if you visit here .

Trilock (left) The Crooked Skyscraper. All of the red lines are completely parallel would you believe?

Tube of illusion OK, this one really belongs in the Skytopia 3D stereoscopic gallery, but I just couldn't resist. If you can cross your eyes, so that both pictures slide 'into' each other - to form a third, 3D image between them, the effect you will see is truly stunning! Try focusing on something in between you and the monitor to help see the illusion. If you're still stuck and you really want to see the illusion, If you can't manage to see this cross eyed version below, then try the parallel version here. For this parallel version you look behind the monitor and just like the cross eyed version - try to get the two tubes to match up. Unfortunately though, it needs to be made around four times as small due to the nature of parallel vision. On top of other fantastic NEW illusions, you can witness a whole ANIMATION of travelling through the tube. See here for more details.

Wheel of Confusion Which way is the wheel turning!? Focus on the red dots and follow them round... it appears to be rotating anti-clockwise. However, if you follow the yellow dots round instead, the whole wheel will be turning the other way! - clockwise!

	Magic Zoomster This cool optical illusion has been seen before, but I've spruced it up by adding colour, multiple layers, and making it bigger!! The idea is to focus on the dot in the centre and then move your head constantly towards and away from the monitor. You should see the circles rotate spookily! Press the F11 key in your browser to see the illusion at full screen!
Flickering Fog Based on an illusion by Akiyoshi Kitaoka Just like you did for the Eclipse of Mars, stare intently at the red dot in the center of the left block for about a couple of minutes. Once you've done this, look over to the center of the right block. It should act weird - by fading out and 'flickering'. If you move your head closer and further from the monitor (while focussing in the center), you should see some interesting interference effects too.
Checker Shadow Illusion This fantastic illusion was created by Edward Adelson. Incredibly, both A and B are the same shade of grey. These type of optical illusions usually just use simple contrast to fool the brain, but this illusion employs two effects. First of all, it plays tricks on the mind thanks to the dark shadow contrast around B - but the effect is reinforced by the bright white background contrast near A. With some 'training', it is possible to see both A and B as the same shade, but otherwise you might want to import the picture into a paint package to prove it to yourself.

Vanishing Fluff
Stare at the black dot for a minute (the longer the better), and watch the colored 'fluff' disappear!

Find your blind spot

Another popular one - and quite unnerving if you've never seen it before...
Close your left eye and just focus your right eye on the tiny cross. At some point the big circle will disappear as it crosses your 'blind spot'. If you can't see this effect, then try sitting closer/further from the screen.

Vision distorter (v2.0) Watch your very world around you distort! Seeing is believing..... or so they say. Well believe it no more, because as these animations will show, your very world is going to distort around you! Improved over time, this ranks as one of the more scary optical illusions. There are anims to make everything shrink, grow, and both! For this stunning illusion, you'll need to have flash installed, but in all probability, you most likely already have. Otherwise, you should download it, then you'll need to follow the instructions in the blue box-out to the right. INSTRUCTIONS: After clicking on the box of your choice, sit up fairly close to the monitor screen and stare into the center of the animation for a minute or 2 (the longer the better). Once you've done this, look at something else, and your vision will go haywire! Things will really look as though they're shrinking or growing! Grow! Grow + Shrink! You think those are cool? On top of other new illusions, we have 6 more types of stretch, including: SHRINK! SQUASH! THIN FA see them!

There's certainly something very ambiguous
about which way this is meant to be up...
(This intriguing "ambigram" was originally
created by John Langdon).

ANSWERS (to earlier illusions)

Tri-curve: They're all the same size

Sign says "I love Paris in the /the/ springtime".
The word "the" is repeated.

Civil rights group criticizes China for blocking YouTube

YouTube working to restore access to its users in China; site blocked since Monday

yesterday stepped up criticism of the Chinese government's decision to block access to the YouTube video-sharing site to users in the country, at least the second time it has done so in a year.

Access to YouTube has been blocked in China since Monday, according to Scott Rubin, a spokesman for YouTube Inc. "We do not know the reason for the blockage, and we're working as quickly as possible to restore access to our users in China," he said in an e-mail to Computerworld.

The site was blocked gradually starting Monday afternoon, and all users in China had lost access to YouTube at some point on Tuesday, he added. Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal quoted a spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry as saying the government had "taken up management of the [YouTube] network according to the laws."

Brock N. Meeks, director of communications at the Center for Democracy and Technology, said in a blog post yesterday that China has provided no reason for the blockage to YouTube, its parent company Google Inc. or to users in China. "Instead, Chinese officials are engaged in their own fanciful brand of obfuscation," he said.

"While Beijing may be operating with blinders on, the rest of the world is watching this game of geopolitical charades in crystal-clear, high-def," wrote Meeks. "The 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre is fast approaching, and the Chinese aren't taking any chances that subversive digital propaganda will trickle into their country on the bit stream."

This week's action isn't the first time that individual countries, including China, have blocked access to YouTube.

A year ago this month, for instance, the Chinese government blocked some Internet access amid rioting in Tibet. During that time, China blocked access to Google News and YouTube in what appeared to be an effort to stop the spread of video footage related to the rioting in several cities in Tibet, including the capital, Lhasa.

"There is a long history of China violating the international right of free expression," said Meeks. "On Monday, they flipped some switches, monitored some blinking LEDs on a console and choked off YouTube's air supply."

Dan Olds, an analyst at Gabriel Consulting Group, said that Chinese officials should be aware that although they can shut off access, information can still trickle through.

"There are millions of routes into and out of any country that has a decently developed tech infrastructure, and China definitely is in this category," he said. "China will soon discover, if they haven't resigned themselves to it already, that they can't have it both ways with the Internet. They can't use it as a tool to make their society and businesses more productive, and then expect that they can wall themselves off from anything they don't like. It isn't a faucet. It's a huge water pipe with only a semifunctional valve. It can't be turned off all the way anymore."

source http://www.computerworld.com/

M A I N N E W S

Army foils LeT infiltration bid
Lashkar warns of more attacks
Tribune News Service

Srinagar/New Delhi, March 25
Pakistan based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba today acknowledged its role in trying to push militants into India across the LOC. A Lashkar spokesman Abdulla Ghaznavi was quoted by a news agency as saying that attacks will continue on Indian soil and that the push at Kupwara was part of the LeT game plan.

The fierce encounter at Kupwara, that lasted for five days, signals stepped-up terrorist activities from across the border, warned Army chief General Deepak Kapoor on Wednesday. He said Pakistan-based militant group, Lashkar-e-Toiba, was attempting ‘the biggest push’ to infiltrate around 300 terrorists across the Line of Control into India.

Pakistani troops have been firing throughout last night at Indian posts in Uri sector, apparently to give cover to militants crossing over. The arms, ammunition and the sophisticated communication equipment recovered from the 17 militants killed in the encounter at Kupwara, said General Kapoor, also indicated the involvement of official agencies in Pakistan.

The Army has recovered 23 AK assault rifles, one pistol, four Under Barrel Grenade Launchers, 19 UBGL grenades, two hand grenades, two global positioning systems and 10 radio sets at Kupwara.

The encounter, which began on March 20, lasted five days and claimed the lives of 17 militants and eight security personnel.

Brigadier General Gurmeet Singh said in Srinagar that the terrorists couldn’t have accessed the weaponry without state backing. “The operation is still in progress. The majority of the terrorists have been killed. However, those who might have escaped, will also be eliminated,” said the Brigadier General.

All martyrs, including Major Mohit Sharma and jawan Shabir Ahmad Malik, were laid to rest in Jammu and Ganderbal in north Kashmir.

In New Delhi, the Army chief said 40 to 50 terror camps were operational on the other side of LoC in Pakistan, camps which kept shifting their locations. More terrorists were waiting to infiltrate once the conditions get conducive for crossing over.

On the highly sophisticated communication equipment used by terrorists during the encounter, the Army chief said, “Obviously they were contacting their handlers on the other side.” He added that the terrorists had received a fairly high level of training, which became obvious after the Mumbai attacks.

Asked why it took the Army so long to eliminate the terrorists in Kupwara, the Army chief said, “ In such a terrain where there is still snow, passes are still closed and reaching outlying areas is difficult, we killed 17 terrorists and recovered arms and equipment that indicate how well-prepared they were. It was a high-risk operation and in the event our boys did quite well.”

Obama overhauls US Afghan strategy

The Iraq-style troop surge is one part of a plan that hopes to bring stability through civilian know-how and a fresh Pakistan policy.

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Washington - Since the United States invaded Iraq six years ago, its attention, effort, and military know-how has tilted toward the Gulf. Perhaps as soon as Friday, President Obama is expected to shift that focus, announcing a new strategy for Afghanistan and the neighbor with which it is entwined, Pakistan.

It is an announcement with echoes of the US "surge" in Iraq, when America increased its commitment to Iraq and turned to a new strategy that prioritized protecting Iraqis as much as killing terrorists. In the broadest terms, plans for Afghanistan will be along the same lines.

Yet the challenges presented by Afghanistan are an order of magnitude greater than they were in Iraq – involving a state with virtually no rule of law, a government rife with opium-fueled corruption, and an insurgency spanning two nations and entrenched in some of the world's most inhospitable terrain.

"Unlike Iraq and some of the other problems, this is an area where I've been somewhat uncertain in my own mind what the right path forward is," said Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently.

Given the scope of the task ahead – and the fact that priorities in Afghanistan have been long delayed by America's emphasis on Iraq – some in Washington are preaching patience.

"Whatever [the plan] is, it's going to be long-term," says one Republican staffer on Capitol Hill who was not authorized to speak with the media. "We're going to be spending money on Afghanistan for a long time."

Mr. Obama's plan is the culmination of input from various quarters of government, some of which continue to have fundamental differences over the ultimate goals for Afghanistan, just days before Obama is to announce the way ahead. Whether he will launch the plan with a formal announcement or simply begin its implementation more quietly was not clear Wednesday morning. Several media reports suggested that he could unveil the strategy Friday. Yet the broad brush strokes of the plan are already clear.

The 17,000 American troops Obama has promised for Afghanistan are expected to be crucial in bringing some measure of stability to the south, where British and Canadian forces have not been able to dislodge the Taliban from vast swaths of territory.

Unlike Iraq, where the insurgency was largely confined to urban areas, the insurgency in Afghanistan resides in wide-open, rural areas, posing a challenge to a small international force that has long been overstretched. Gen. David McKiernan has declared the south a "stalemate."

Yet the insurgency there is relatively isolated, according to NATO officials, who say that nearly three-quarters of the terrorist activities occur in only 5 percent of the country's more than 360 districts.

Once security is established in areas, the US and NATO may be able to reconcile with some elements of the insurgency – typically low-level insurgents who are driven more by economic realities than ideology – in a way that produces a similar outcome as that in Iraq, says a top official who could speak to the media only on condition of anonymity.

As with the Iraq surge, an increase of troops is seen as being only one element of the new Afghan strategy – and perhaps not the most important.

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"It's not a military solution to Afghanistan, period," says one American military officer with extensive experience in Afghanistan, who says the way to victory is not using the military alone but the so-called whole of government.

As in Iraq, the troops are seen as merely the means for providing some measure of security so that Afghanistan's other, deeper problems can be addressed.

Among them:

•A "civilian surge" will send Americans with wide-ranging expertise to Afghanistan to help it build its civilian institutions, which are largely inefficient or nonexistent. For example, the State Department is reportedly planning to send 14 foreign-service officers to Afghanistan – something experts and the military have been calling for for years, saying the US will only succeed if it increases Afghans' capacity to help themselves.

•The US will ask allies for more money and training to help build Afghanistan's police and Army – seen as key to the country's long-term stability. There are now only about 160,000 trained soldiers and police officers in a country that is larger and more populous than Iraq. Iraq now has about 600,000 police and soldiers. The New York Times has reported that some officials would like to increase the Afghan number to 400,000. A French plan to build a gendarme or paramilitary force to bridge a perceived gap between the police and the military is also under consideration, but several American officials dismissed it as unnecessary.

•The US will have to increase dramatically its counternarcotics role. Though NATO countries agreed last fall to target drug traffickers with their military forces in Afghanistan, there has been little action, both because of their limited resources and their belief that drug issues are a law enforcement issue, not a military concern. US officials disagree, contending that the poppy trade is central to the insurgency.

•The US is poised to send as much as $1.5 billion in nonmilitary aid to Pakistan. The goal is to address the roots of insurgency in Pakistan's tribal belt, where many terrorist groups operating in Afghanistan have their command-and-control hubs. Bringing development to this impoverished region is seen as one way of undercutting terrorists' influence.

In many ways, Pakistan presents far more difficult problems than does Afghanistan. While the US has a relatively free hand in Afghanistan, it must work through the civilian government in Pakistan, which has lurched from one crisis to the next and lacks popular support for antiterrorism campaigns. The Pakistan Army appears increasingly open to US concerns, but it is trained and equipped to fight India, not insurgents.

"They are totally incapable of conducting counterinsurgency [operations]," says one American official. "It's all about tanks, rockets, and strike fighters."

This is partly why the Obama administration has reportedly kept up its airstrikes inside Pakistan using drones. The Pentagon has also sent in up to 100 special forces soldiers to conduct counterinsurgency training inside the Pakistan border, and American officials hope Pakistan will be willing to accept more.

While the revamped mission in Afghanistan could take years, Obama seems to have his eye on the door at the same time, an echo of many allies who have made it clear their commitments are not indefinite. "So what we're looking for is a comprehensive strategy, and there's got to be an exit strategy," said Obama during a recent interview with the "60 Minutes" news program. "There's got to be a sense that this is not perpetual drift."

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