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# How Illusions Can Explain Reality
- URL: https://www.cascadepbs.org/show/its-okay-be-smart/episode/how-illusions-can-explain-reality-nism4u/
- Published: 2024-04-02T23:16:50.000Z
- Updated: 2025-08-20T09:55:30.000Z
- Description: Illusions teach us how our brain constructs a three-dimensional reality using 2-D images.
- Author: Cascade PBS Staff
- Tags: Be Smart, Season 10, Episode 4, #ZZZ_Episode_388a9c99-9a1d-4f6f-8b37-8749908aeeec, #episode, #ZZZ_Show_dc38a6e9-266e-43c1-b647-45e7445fad27, #v1.16

Optical illusions are fun, but they can also teach us a lot about how our brains work. In particular, how our brains accomplish the incredible feat of constructing a three-dimensional reality using nothing but 2-D images from our eyes. A young artist and psychology researcher named Adelbert Ames, Jr. developed a series of illusions that help us understand how this process of constructing reality a