Multistable perception (or bistable perception) is a
perceptual phenomenon in which an observer experiences an unpredictable sequence of spontaneous subjective changes. While usually associated with
visual perception
Visual perception is the ability to interpret the surrounding Biophysical environment, environment through photopic vision (daytime vision), color vision, scotopic vision (night vision), and mesopic vision (twilight vision), using light in the ...
(a form of
optical illusion), multistable perception can also be experienced with
auditory and
olfactory percepts.
Classification
Perceptual
multistability can be evoked by visual patterns that are too
ambiguous for the human
visual system
The visual system comprises the sensory organ (the eye) and parts of the central nervous system (the retina containing photoreceptor cells, the optic nerve, the optic tract and the visual cortex) which gives organisms the sense of sight (th ...
to definitively and uniquely interpret. Familiar examples include the
Necker cube
The Necker cube is an optical illusion that was first published as a Rhomboid in 1832 by Swiss crystallographer Louis Albert Necker. It is a simple wire-frame, two dimensional drawing of a cube with no visual cues as to its orientation, so it ...
,
Schroeder staircase,
structure from motion
Structure from motion (SfM) is a photogrammetric range imaging technique for estimating three-dimensional structures from two-dimensional image sequences that may be coupled with local motion signals. It is studied in the fields of computer visio ...
,
monocular rivalry
Monocular rivalry is a phenomenon of human visual perception that occurs when two different images are optically superimposed. During prolonged viewing, one image becomes clearer than the other for a few moments, then the other image becomes clear ...
, and
binocular rivalry Binocular rivalry is a phenomenon of visual perception in which perception alternates between different images presented to each eye.
When one image is presented to one eye and a very different image is presented to the other (also known as dic ...
, but many more visually
ambiguous patterns are known. Because most of these images lead to an alternation between two mutually exclusive perceptual states, they are sometimes also referred to as bistable perception.
Auditory and
olfactory examples can occur when there are conflicting, and so rival, inputs into the two
ear
An ear is the organ that enables hearing and, in mammals, body balance using the vestibular system. In mammals, the ear is usually described as having three parts—the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear consists of ...
s or two
nostril
A nostril (or naris , plural ''nares'' ) is either of the two orifices of the nose. They enable the entry and exit of air and other gasses through the nasal cavities. In birds and mammals, they contain branched bones or cartilages called turbi ...
s.
Characterization
The transition from one precept (an undefined term) to its alternative (the defined term) is called a perceptual reversal (
Paradigm shift). They are spontaneous and
stochastic events that cannot be eliminated by intentional efforts, although some control over the alternation process is learnable. Reversal rates vary drastically between stimuli and observers. They are slower for people with
bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...
.
Cultural history
Human interest in these phenomena can be traced back to
antiquity. The fascination with multistable perception probably comes from the active nature of
endogenous perceptual changes or from the dissociation of dynamic perception from constant sensory stimulation.
Multistable perception was a common feature in the artwork of the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
lithographer
Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...
M. C. Escher, who was strongly influenced by mathematical physicists such as
Roger Penrose.
Examples
Real-world phenomena
Photographs of craters, from either the moon or other planets including our own, can exhibit this phenomenon. Craters in stereo vision, such as our eyes, normally appear concave. However, in monocular presentations, such as photographs, the elimination of our depth perception causes multistable perception, which can cause the craters to look like plateaus rather than pits. For humans, the "default" interpretation comes from an assumption of
top-left lighting, so that rotating the image by 180 degrees can cause the perception to suddenly switch. This phenomenon is called the concave/convex, or simply up/down, ambiguity, and it confuses
computer vision as well.
In popular culture
In literature, the
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
novel, ''
Dhalgren'', by
Samuel R. Delany, contains circular text, multistable perception, and multiple entry points.
Multistable perception arises with the theater segments of ''
Mystery Science Theater 3000'', as due to the construction of the
Crow T. Robot puppet, its head can appear to be facing towards the camera rather than towards the film being shown. This was addressed by the creators of the series, even likening Crow to a
Necker cube
The Necker cube is an optical illusion that was first published as a Rhomboid in 1832 by Swiss crystallographer Louis Albert Necker. It is a simple wire-frame, two dimensional drawing of a cube with no visual cues as to its orientation, so it ...
or
The Spinning Dancer.
See also
*
Cognitive neuroscience
Cognitive neuroscience is the scientific field that is concerned with the study of the biological processes and aspects that underlie cognition, with a specific focus on the neural connections in the brain which are involved in mental process ...
*
Experimental psychology
*
Gestalt psychology
Gestalt-psychology, gestaltism, or configurationism is a school of psychology that emerged in the early twentieth century in Austria and Germany as a theory of perception that was a rejection of basic principles of Wilhelm Wundt's and Edward ...
*
Op art
*
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarre images in ...
Bibliography
*
*
Sources
External links
VisualFunHouse Optical IllusionsMultistable perception Optical Illusions
A collection of visually ambiguous patterns* {{ cite journal , author1=Miller, S. M. , author2=Liu, G. B. , author3=Ngo, T. T. , author4=Hooper, G. , author5=Riek, S. , author6=Carson, R. G. , author7=Pettigrew, J. D. , url = http://www.uq.edu.au/nuq/jack/HTMLCBpaper.htm , title = Interhemispheric Switching Mediates Perceptual Rivalry , journal = Current Biology , year = 2000 , volume = 10 , issue = 7 , pages = 383–392 , pmid = 10753744 , doi = 10.1016/S0960-9822(00)00416-4 , s2cid=51808719
Ambiguity of spatial perception (fr)
Perception
Optical illusions