Optical Illusions and Aspergers

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Hi Everybody!

I have a curiosity about something. I've read that people with Aspergers are unable to be fooled by optical illussions. Like an average person will see two different sized shapes, when they are actually the same size. But someone with Aspergers sees the shapes for what they actually are.

I have not been diagnosed with Asperger's, but my friends and I have strongly suspected that I'm somewhere on the spectrum based on years of time and experience together.

However, I see optical illusions the same as your run of the mill NT. I like them, and think they are cool, but I process them like the average man.

Does this kind of phenomena qualify as say a "litmus test" for people with Asperger's. Like, if you aren't fooled by optical illusions, then you have Asperger's or some ASD?

Or is it more like the mantra "If you've met one person with Autism, you've met ONE person with Autism".

I'm interested in hearing everyone's experience and thoughts on this.

I'm diagnosed with AS, and I've always been fooled by optical illusions as easily as anybody else.

For example:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Opti ... _brown.svg
Works on me.

My eyes can flip flop based on my knowledge of a thing. Like if I know it's an optical illusion, I can see all the different ways to see it. I'm also really good at finding those 3D images in the Magic Eye books.

Just to make sure, I looked at my The Ultimate Book of Optical Illusions and it really depends on the illusion. Like Purves and Lotto's Contrast Illusion

I know they're both the same color, but my brain is telling me one is lighter than the other, even though I know it's not true. For the Pinna-Brelstaff revolving circles illusion, it works just fine for me. (those that cause one to perceive a motion in the picture)


However, for the 3D Cube illusion (where it's the wire frame of a box), I can see it different ways; flat, pointing one way, and pointing the other way.

Things like the Stroop Effect (read the color the word says, not the color of the word) gets me a little, but I'm actually not bad at that, so there's some disconnect there.


I should add that the "see two images in one" I can always see both.
Like this one, which actually has it twice

Yes I get fooled by them. I find them fun to look at.

I get fooled by them too.

I've always wondered about this myself. I do know that with some mental conditions (such as schizophrenia for example), that people tend to see some optical illusions differently. In this illusion, for example, schizophrenics tend not to be fooled by the mask and see it the way it really is.

Here's another illusion that schizophrenics are less likely to be fooled by than others. http://www.moillusions.com/schizophrenia-test/ The weird thing is that I got both of the answers correct for this one (and I'm definitely not schizophrenic) so it's possible that autistic people are better at this test than neurotypicals. But then again that may just be me.

My guess is that autistic people tend to see some illusions differently than other people, but that there are still a lot of illusions that affect us normally. I do hope more research is done on this topic though because I find it very interesting.

I could see it was hollow straight away... And the ones on your link, I got the true match. I don't have schizophrenia though. I mean I've never been tested, but I don't have it.

I don't think there's any quick "litmus test" for knowing a person is likely to be on the spectrum. It would be interesting if there were something like this -- "wow, all aspies are never fooled by optical illusion" -- but I think the situation really is more like that saying "If you've met one aspie, you've met one aspie."

While obviously there are set-in-stone criteria all diagnosed people had to have in common to be diagnosed in the first place, it seems that oddities attached to the condition, even ones that may even be seen a lot on the spectrum, are more a grab-bag of variations.

Thank you guys very much!

This really helps to clear up a lot of my own misunderstandings.

I'll have more to respond to with others individually later on when I have time.

Depends on the illusion.

The Pinna-Brelstaff revolving circles illusion Kamiyu posted only works for me sometimes. I can see the box rfom different angles, I'm not terribly good with Stroop tests. Two images in one pictures can go either way. All depending on the image I can see none, one or both.

The illusion below works on me. The colors look different until I put my finger between them.

Cowabunga, dude! Thanks. That color thing with the boxes is pretty wild. I think pretty much all the rotating circle things work for me, though.

Appreciate your feedback.

They both look the same color and then the bottom square looks whitish and then dark again.

kamiyu910, how are you?

(I like your avatar, by the way ^.^)

Thanks for all those examples. It's strange, the same color box illusion doesn't effect me. It looks the same shade of grey, until I stare at it for a longer time, then it starts to get lighter. But the later illusion from Skilpadde fools me pretty good. Even using my finger to cover up the center of the picture, the bottom portion still looks lighter.

In the multi picture with the face, dragon, and rider... It took me a moment to see the face and the cube. But once I noticed everything, then I could interpret everything at face value (pun intended ). I can conciously choose to see only individual parts, or everything at once (circle, cube, face, dragon and horserider, background).

I can get through the color words pretty quick, and the Pinna-Brelstaff illusion fools me good. I can see the cube in all the same ways you can, though it takes me a few seconds to switch directions. Took longer when I was younger.

And I grew up with Magic Eye, and it is pretty cool! If you cross your eyes from the start, then you can make the image look inverted... like you're looking at it from behind as if it's a hammered metal shape for instance. Magic Eye book 3 was probably my favorite. The artwork was more ascetically appealing to me.

Hi Lissa,

I saw the mask as being a flat pic, but not really 3D nor inverted concave... so my perception is a bit ambivalent on that Weird.

I don't think I'm schizophrenic, but then again, I've never been tested for that... Maybe I'm halfway there.

More thorough research would be a cool thing. Thanks!

Hi BirdInFlight,

At this point, I would have to agree. I actually was doubting my having Aspergers (well possible Aspergers as I am undiagnosed), because of this thing in particular. Which wouldn't be a catastrophe, but it does helped to explain my social eccentricities, and executive function issues, and intense narrowed interests, and .... well, you get the point.

Ultimately, everyone is unique in a variety of ways whether they are autistic or not. And I think I like it that way.

I'm not saying that I do have Aspergers, just that it's very possible given the evidence from others and myself.

Hello iliketrees,

Thanks for sharing as well. Good to meet you!