Familiar with the Muller-Lyer Illusion? Well, if not, here it is. Many people perceive the line on the right to
be longer than the one on the left. Up
to 20% longer, and it’s not. It’s the
same length. Do we know what causes this
illusion? Well, maybe.
I won’t bore you with the details (well, not all of them
anyway), but one popular theory is that we ‘learn’ it from our experience in
right-angle environments, the so-called ‘carpentered worlds.’ The line on the right looks like an inside
corner – like the corner of a room, if you’re sitting in one. The line on the left, an outside corner. Since the inside corner is receding in
distance, we perceive it to be longer than the outside corner that is sticking out toward
you, even if physically (e.g., by a ruler) they are the same length.
Got that? Amazing what
our brains do, even if they fool us once and a while…or more. But, the question for today: what happens to the Muller-Lyer in the
future? I have my guess – it disappears.
It’s not that we stop carpentering our worlds in right angles. I doubt that. But our experience with depth becomes
stunted. Our friends and family don’t
live down the block. They live on our 2D phone and tablet surfaces. Even film and game
makers give up on 3D glasses and head-mounted displays. The body’s sense that we aren't moving never lines
up with 3D when it says we are.
And besides, who needs 3D when our heroes save the world from an alien
invasion using their 2D, battle-command interface? A 3D film to show a 2D screen…huh?
But what about just plain getting around in the future? Between virtual work and every retailer
dropping orders into your drone-delivery chute, it’s rare. And when we do go out, the first thing we do
in our self-driving car is turn all the windows into 2D displays. Wouldn’t want to miss the latest 2D video of
a dog chasing its tail.
So, I’m telling you this as a favor. You see, the next time I’m in a fender-bender
or even have a disagreement with a light pole, I’m telling the officer, “Sorry,
but it’s not my fault. See, I’m just
ahead of my time in losing my depth perception.”
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