Opticus Realm: Where Things Are Not What They Seem

Event Description:

Nearly half of the cerebral cortex is devoted to visual perception – the interpretation and processing of visual information. Everything we perceive is a construction of the brain that assigns meaning to the millions of visual sensations we daily encounter.

The School of Visual Art and Design and the Physics and Engineering Departments have teamed up to explore the connection between neuronal activity in the brain and the visual experience. The displays and activities will help participants explore and understand how our brains try to find meaning. This program will include optical illusions built into the design of the space as well as interactive stations that will allow users to explore persistence of vision, phantom images, and color perception. A virtual reality experience will demonstrate how visual perceptions might be different for people with a variety of vision disorders.