Poggendorff Rides Again!

Abstract

The Poggendorff illusion is one of the most exhaustively studied illusions. Can it be revived as an interesting problem? Perhaps by moving it to a slightly different domain. Here, we consider the occlusion of a subjectively linear ramp of tonal values. In a simple experiment, we find results closely resembling those of the geometrical Poggendorff. Yet, the “explanations” offered for the latter hardly apply to the former case. Depending upon one's perspective, this may be taken to “revive” the Poggendorff illusion.