Illusions

4 cards. Each one is a 40-second story with a five-minute read behind it.

1. Your brain backdates reality to fill in the gaps of your sightHave you ever looked at a clock and felt like the second hand paused for an extra heartbeat? This isn't a glitch in time, but a clever trick by your visual system. To keep your wo…
2. Can your brain be tricked into claiming a rubber hand as its own?By synchronising a paintbrush stroke on your real hand and a fake one, researchers can hijack your sense of self. This phenomenon, known as the body transfer illusion, demonstrate…
3. Why your brain sees a stationary star as a wandering ghostWhen you stare into a pitch-black void at a single point of light, your brain begins to hallucinate motion. This isn't a trick of the light, but a failure of your internal navigat…
4. There is a sound that seems to rise forever but never gets higher.The Shepard tone stacks notes an octave apart, fading the top ones out as new bottom ones fade in. Your brain hears endless climbing. It's an auditory barber's pole, and filmmaker…

All of Music Open the feed Latest A–Z