full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Andrew Vanden Heuvel: The moon illusion


Unscramble the Blue Letters


Have you ever noticed how the full moon looks bgeigr when it's near the horizon than when it's high over head? If so, you're not alone. People have wondered about this stganre effect since ancient teims, and surprisingly, we still don't have a geart explanation, but that's not for lack of trying. Some of the gestraet minds in hoistry - Aristotle, Ptolemy, Da Vinci, Decartes - have all wrestled with this problem and failed to generate an adequate explanation. One of the first ideas suggested was that the image of the moon in the sky really is bigger near the horizon. Perhaps the Earth's atmosphere acts like a giant lens, magnifying the moon as it resis and sets. But this explanation doesn't cut it. If anything, the refraction of the atmosphere would make the moon look slightly smaller. Plus, if you actually measure the size of the visible moon at different positions, it doesn't change at all. But then, why does it still seem bigger when it's rising? This must be some kind of optical illusion. The question is, which one? One explanation is the Ebbinghaus Illusion, where two identical objects look different because of the relative size of the objects they're surrounded by. Here the two center clreics are actually the same size. Maybe the moon looks bigger near the horizon because it's next to tiny trees, houses, and towers in the distance. But when the moon is higher up, it's sdueorurnd by the vast darkness of the night sky and looks tiny by cpomoarisn. Another possibility is the famous pnzoo Illusion. If you've ever tried to draw in pircvestepe, you know that the closer something is to the horizon, the smaller you should draw it. Our brain compensates ataltcilmauoy for this by perceiving objects near the horizon as larger than they actually appear. The two yellow lines in this drawing are the same size, but the upper one seems bigger because we interpret it as receding farther into the horizon. So, between Ponzo and Ebbinghaus, it seems like we've sleovd the myrtesy of the moon illusion, but, unfortunately, there are a few datiles that complicate things. For one thing, if this was just the Ebbinghaus effect, then we would expect the moon illusion to disappear for pilots flying high above the clouds since there wouldn't be any other smaller objects near the horizon. But in fact, potils and sailors out on the ocean still cailm to see the moon illusion. On the other hand, if it's just our brain's anrtcioucretog the size of objects near the horizon, then we'd expect the moon iiolsuln to be visible inside a planetarium, where the whole sky, including the horizon, is dsyapiled on a spherical dome ohvareed. Studies have shown, though, that this is not the case. To make matters worse, it seems the moon illusion disappears entirely if you just bend over and look at the moon between your legs. Now, this is just getting ridiculous! One of the most pnmoisrig explanations today is known as Convergence mrocpisia. Our brains judge the distance to objects and their apparent size by the fuocs of our eyes. When looking at the hzoiorn, your eyes focus far off into the distance so your brain knows you're looking far away. The moon arappes a certain size. Your brain thinks it's far away, which it is, so you naturally cluocdne the moon must be big. But when looking up at the night sky, there's nothing for your eyes to focus on, so they default to their rest focus, which is a point just a few meters away. Now your brian thinks the moon is much closer than it really is, so you naturally conclude the moon's not as big as you thought it was. Rather than explain why the moon looks so big near the horizon, Convergence Microspia explains why the moon looks so small when overhead. Still not satisfied? Well, flnrkay, neither are many scientists, so the dbetae over the moon illusion still rages on and may cotinune as long as we still see it in the ngiht sky.

Open Cloze


Have you ever noticed how the full moon looks ______ when it's near the horizon than when it's high over head? If so, you're not alone. People have wondered about this _______ effect since ancient _____, and surprisingly, we still don't have a _____ explanation, but that's not for lack of trying. Some of the ________ minds in _______ - Aristotle, Ptolemy, Da Vinci, Decartes - have all wrestled with this problem and failed to generate an adequate explanation. One of the first ideas suggested was that the image of the moon in the sky really is bigger near the horizon. Perhaps the Earth's atmosphere acts like a giant lens, magnifying the moon as it _____ and sets. But this explanation doesn't cut it. If anything, the refraction of the atmosphere would make the moon look slightly smaller. Plus, if you actually measure the size of the visible moon at different positions, it doesn't change at all. But then, why does it still seem bigger when it's rising? This must be some kind of optical illusion. The question is, which one? One explanation is the Ebbinghaus Illusion, where two identical objects look different because of the relative size of the objects they're surrounded by. Here the two center _______ are actually the same size. Maybe the moon looks bigger near the horizon because it's next to tiny trees, houses, and towers in the distance. But when the moon is higher up, it's __________ by the vast darkness of the night sky and looks tiny by __________. Another possibility is the famous _____ Illusion. If you've ever tried to draw in ___________, you know that the closer something is to the horizon, the smaller you should draw it. Our brain compensates _____________ for this by perceiving objects near the horizon as larger than they actually appear. The two yellow lines in this drawing are the same size, but the upper one seems bigger because we interpret it as receding farther into the horizon. So, between Ponzo and Ebbinghaus, it seems like we've ______ the _______ of the moon illusion, but, unfortunately, there are a few _______ that complicate things. For one thing, if this was just the Ebbinghaus effect, then we would expect the moon illusion to disappear for pilots flying high above the clouds since there wouldn't be any other smaller objects near the horizon. But in fact, ______ and sailors out on the ocean still _____ to see the moon illusion. On the other hand, if it's just our brain's ______________ the size of objects near the horizon, then we'd expect the moon ________ to be visible inside a planetarium, where the whole sky, including the horizon, is _________ on a spherical dome ________. Studies have shown, though, that this is not the case. To make matters worse, it seems the moon illusion disappears entirely if you just bend over and look at the moon between your legs. Now, this is just getting ridiculous! One of the most _________ explanations today is known as Convergence _________. Our brains judge the distance to objects and their apparent size by the _____ of our eyes. When looking at the _______, your eyes focus far off into the distance so your brain knows you're looking far away. The moon _______ a certain size. Your brain thinks it's far away, which it is, so you naturally ________ the moon must be big. But when looking up at the night sky, there's nothing for your eyes to focus on, so they default to their rest focus, which is a point just a few meters away. Now your _____ thinks the moon is much closer than it really is, so you naturally conclude the moon's not as big as you thought it was. Rather than explain why the moon looks so big near the horizon, Convergence Microspia explains why the moon looks so small when overhead. Still not satisfied? Well, _______, neither are many scientists, so the ______ over the moon illusion still rages on and may ________ as long as we still see it in the _____ sky.

Solution


  1. micropsia
  2. continue
  3. focus
  4. mystery
  5. frankly
  6. horizon
  7. details
  8. brain
  9. perspective
  10. debate
  11. bigger
  12. conclude
  13. illusion
  14. displayed
  15. appears
  16. greatest
  17. automatically
  18. claim
  19. ponzo
  20. night
  21. surrounded
  22. great
  23. autocorrecting
  24. comparison
  25. circles
  26. times
  27. rises
  28. strange
  29. solved
  30. overhead
  31. history
  32. promising
  33. pilots

Original Text


Have you ever noticed how the full moon looks bigger when it's near the horizon than when it's high over head? If so, you're not alone. People have wondered about this strange effect since ancient times, and surprisingly, we still don't have a great explanation, but that's not for lack of trying. Some of the greatest minds in history - Aristotle, Ptolemy, Da Vinci, Decartes - have all wrestled with this problem and failed to generate an adequate explanation. One of the first ideas suggested was that the image of the moon in the sky really is bigger near the horizon. Perhaps the Earth's atmosphere acts like a giant lens, magnifying the moon as it rises and sets. But this explanation doesn't cut it. If anything, the refraction of the atmosphere would make the moon look slightly smaller. Plus, if you actually measure the size of the visible moon at different positions, it doesn't change at all. But then, why does it still seem bigger when it's rising? This must be some kind of optical illusion. The question is, which one? One explanation is the Ebbinghaus Illusion, where two identical objects look different because of the relative size of the objects they're surrounded by. Here the two center circles are actually the same size. Maybe the moon looks bigger near the horizon because it's next to tiny trees, houses, and towers in the distance. But when the moon is higher up, it's surrounded by the vast darkness of the night sky and looks tiny by comparison. Another possibility is the famous Ponzo Illusion. If you've ever tried to draw in perspective, you know that the closer something is to the horizon, the smaller you should draw it. Our brain compensates automatically for this by perceiving objects near the horizon as larger than they actually appear. The two yellow lines in this drawing are the same size, but the upper one seems bigger because we interpret it as receding farther into the horizon. So, between Ponzo and Ebbinghaus, it seems like we've solved the mystery of the moon illusion, but, unfortunately, there are a few details that complicate things. For one thing, if this was just the Ebbinghaus effect, then we would expect the moon illusion to disappear for pilots flying high above the clouds since there wouldn't be any other smaller objects near the horizon. But in fact, pilots and sailors out on the ocean still claim to see the moon illusion. On the other hand, if it's just our brain's autocorrecting the size of objects near the horizon, then we'd expect the moon illusion to be visible inside a planetarium, where the whole sky, including the horizon, is displayed on a spherical dome overhead. Studies have shown, though, that this is not the case. To make matters worse, it seems the moon illusion disappears entirely if you just bend over and look at the moon between your legs. Now, this is just getting ridiculous! One of the most promising explanations today is known as Convergence Micropsia. Our brains judge the distance to objects and their apparent size by the focus of our eyes. When looking at the horizon, your eyes focus far off into the distance so your brain knows you're looking far away. The moon appears a certain size. Your brain thinks it's far away, which it is, so you naturally conclude the moon must be big. But when looking up at the night sky, there's nothing for your eyes to focus on, so they default to their rest focus, which is a point just a few meters away. Now your brain thinks the moon is much closer than it really is, so you naturally conclude the moon's not as big as you thought it was. Rather than explain why the moon looks so big near the horizon, Convergence Microspia explains why the moon looks so small when overhead. Still not satisfied? Well, frankly, neither are many scientists, so the debate over the moon illusion still rages on and may continue as long as we still see it in the night sky.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
moon illusion 5
night sky 2
brain thinks 2
naturally conclude 2



Important Words


  1. acts
  2. adequate
  3. ancient
  4. apparent
  5. appears
  6. aristotle
  7. atmosphere
  8. autocorrecting
  9. automatically
  10. bend
  11. big
  12. bigger
  13. brain
  14. brains
  15. case
  16. center
  17. change
  18. circles
  19. claim
  20. closer
  21. clouds
  22. comparison
  23. compensates
  24. complicate
  25. conclude
  26. continue
  27. convergence
  28. cut
  29. da
  30. darkness
  31. debate
  32. decartes
  33. default
  34. details
  35. disappear
  36. disappears
  37. displayed
  38. distance
  39. dome
  40. draw
  41. drawing
  42. ebbinghaus
  43. effect
  44. expect
  45. explain
  46. explains
  47. explanation
  48. explanations
  49. eyes
  50. fact
  51. failed
  52. famous
  53. flying
  54. focus
  55. frankly
  56. full
  57. generate
  58. giant
  59. great
  60. greatest
  61. hand
  62. head
  63. high
  64. higher
  65. history
  66. horizon
  67. houses
  68. ideas
  69. identical
  70. illusion
  71. image
  72. including
  73. interpret
  74. judge
  75. kind
  76. lack
  77. larger
  78. legs
  79. lens
  80. lines
  81. long
  82. magnifying
  83. matters
  84. measure
  85. meters
  86. micropsia
  87. microspia
  88. minds
  89. moon
  90. mystery
  91. naturally
  92. night
  93. noticed
  94. objects
  95. ocean
  96. optical
  97. overhead
  98. people
  99. perceiving
  100. perspective
  101. pilots
  102. planetarium
  103. point
  104. ponzo
  105. positions
  106. possibility
  107. problem
  108. promising
  109. ptolemy
  110. question
  111. rages
  112. receding
  113. refraction
  114. relative
  115. rest
  116. rises
  117. rising
  118. sailors
  119. satisfied
  120. scientists
  121. sets
  122. shown
  123. size
  124. sky
  125. slightly
  126. small
  127. smaller
  128. solved
  129. spherical
  130. strange
  131. studies
  132. suggested
  133. surprisingly
  134. surrounded
  135. thinks
  136. thought
  137. times
  138. tiny
  139. today
  140. towers
  141. trees
  142. upper
  143. vast
  144. vinci
  145. visible
  146. wondered
  147. worse
  148. wrestled
  149. yellow