Two words with opposite meanings coexist in the same space in the following ambigram from Michigan State University professor Punya Mishra.  Do you see both interpretations?

This type of image is known as figure-ground ambigram.  The concept of figure-ground refers to the cognitive ability to separate and process an image based on contrast (such as the black and white sections of the image above).

Continue reading this article to learn more about this ambigram directly from the artist.

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Scott Blake creates art using bar codes.  This video demonstrates his interactive exhibit called Barcode Elvis at Ripley’s Believe It Or Not! in San Francisco, California.  Scott arranged barcodes from Elvis CDs in such a way that they resemble a composite portrait of the man himself.   When one of the bar codes is scanned using a handheld scanner, a song from that album will begin to play.

The heart pattern below, designed by optical artist Anh Pham, appears to move before your very eyes.  If you enjoy Anh’s motion illusions, you may want to revisit his moving arrows illusion that was featured last month.

Take a look at this boat that is hovering several feet over the water.  How is this possible?

The shadow cast by the boat on the floor of the sea and the angle that the photograph was taken from give us the illusion that this boat is somehow flying or floating.  Photograph taken by Domenico Formichella.

The illusion of the Floating Boat is often used in yacht photography as well. Boat builders want their yacht to appear like its floating in the turquoise waters of the Bahamas. Custom-built vessels, like Garlington Yachts, will often use photoshop to enhance the water and create the optical illusion of a crystal clear ocean.

Does it look like the red portion of this animation is rotating clockwise and the blue portion is rotating counter-clockwise?  The blue part is actually stationary, only the red part is moving.

This effect was described by Peter van der Helm in an abstract in 2006 and was a Top 10 finalist in the 2007 Best Visual Illusion of the Year Contest.

The Terrace by David Macdonald is an illusion that you may very well have seen before.  Even so, this is an illusion worth another look (or two).  This image is his most popular creation and has appeared numerous places around the Internet as well as in books and calendars.  Looking at this image leads to confusion.   The top and bottom halves do not seem to go together.  Something is off.  Which way is up and which way is down?

This video presents two nuts with openings facing in different direction.  A single pencil is then placed through both of the holes simultaneously in a manner that certainly looks to be impossible.

The video then goes on to reveal exactly how this illusion is performed.  But even knowing the secret to the construction of these crazy nuts does not prevent your brain from perceiving them to be crazy once they are rotated back into place.