Pattern #1The images labeled "Pattern #n" demonstrate an interesting capacity of the human brain: the ability to perceive patterns where there is no repetitition whatsoever of form or color. In each of these the shapes of the components change as they move horizontally and vertically, and the progression of changes is different horizontally than it is vertically. The foreground and background colors change horizontally and vertically also, so that there is no single pixel adjacent to a pixel of the same color. And yet we see a clear pattern in the whole of the field.Notice that in a given area, the mind evaluates the pattern as foreground vs. background, based on the grouping of lighter against darker elements. However, in some of these images, the foreground is lighter in one part of the image but progresses to become darker in another part. The most interesting area is where the foreground switches over from being lighter to being darker -- the brain has trouble "seeing" this part of the pattern, even though the colors of foreground and backround are in fact distinct. |
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Last Updated June 5, 1997
Web Page by Ned May
URL http://chromatism.net/chromat/patterns/htm
All images and text are ©2017 by Edward S. May unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.