the waterfall effect

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"....We have found that the illusory movements of the spot of light viewed in darkness are due to small
disturbances of the eye/head system. We might now expect to find illusions of movement due to the
image/retina system, and indeed we do. These illusions are not limited to movement of the whole field:
various parts of the field may appear to move in different directions, and at different rates, the effects
being bizarre and sometimes logically paradoxical. The most marked image/retina disturbance is known
as the 'waterfall effect'.
.....The 'waterfall effect' was known to Aristotle. It is a dramatic example of illusory movement, caused
by adaptation of the image/retina system. It may be induced most easily by looking steadily, for about
half a minute, at the central pivot of a rotating record player. If the turntable is then stopped suddenly it
will seem, for several seconds, to be rotating backwards. The same effect is found after looking at moving
water, for if the eyes are then directed to the bank, or any fixed object, it will seem to flow in the direction
opposite to the flow of water....."

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