Smith-Kettlewell Institute The Impossible Illusory Triangle Christopher W. Tyler Smith-Kettlewell Institute San Francisco

The Impossible Illusory Triangle The Kanizsa illusory triangle is a negative object defined only by its occlusion of background elements. The Penrose impossible triangle is the image of a three-dimensional structure that cannot be interpreted as a physical 3D structure, but has fluctuating, inconsistent 3D interpretations. The new illusion combines these two illusory effects with a third one, in which the Kanizsa triangle is created by dynamic occlusion to form an inverse anorthoscopic effect. The concatenation of a dynamic Kanizsa triangle with a simple three-line figure generates a full Penrose triangle with a continuously fluctuating depth interpretation.

Penrose Impossible Triangle Richard Gregory (1923-2010)

Imaginary (Inverse Anorthoscopic Illusion) Triangle

The Impossible Illusory Triangle

The Impossible Illusory Triangle

The Impossible Illusory Triangle

The Impossible Illusory Triangle