The video starts with a man, presumably the host, expressing his intention to create an optical illusion by going through a window. He's sponsored by NordVPN and mentions that the video is the first part of a three-part illusion. The illusion is the Ames window illusion, which was created by Adelbert Ames in 1947. The window appears to oscillate back and forth, but it's actually rotating continuously.
The host explains that the window is a trapezoid, not a rectangle, and is shaded to make it look 3-D. Despite knowing what the object looks like and what it's doing, he can't perceive the rotation rather than the oscillation. He then tries to attach a Rubik's Cube to the short side of the trapezoid to track its rotation, but it seems to continue going around while the window oscillates.
He also tries using a ruler through the middle of the window, but the window still oscillates in the back while the ruler rotates. He concludes that his brain prefers the illusion over seeing what's really happening, the continuous rotation.
He explains that the illusion was created because we're used to living in rectangular boxes, and our brains use strange shapes to infer depth information. But when we see a trapezoidal window that our brains assume to be rectangular, it creates the illusion. He also mentions that the illusion could be more convincing when viewed from a certain distance and with one eye closed.
He discusses the carpentered world hypothesis, which suggests that people with less experience of rectangles in their environments would be less susceptible to the illusion. He mentions a study in 1957 where this was tested, and the results were consistent with the hypothesis.
He then discusses anamorphosis, a technique used by artists for centuries, which makes a distorted projection of an object. He mentions the de Heer circle, a similar illusion that appears to oscillate back and forth when rotating continuously. He also discusses Ames' most famous illusion, The Ames Room, which appears to be an ordinary room when viewed from one privileged perspective.
He then moves on to depth perception, explaining that we are subconsciously attuned to visual cues that indicate how close or far away something is. He mentions that the Ames window illusion relates to this form of ambiguity.
He discusses his obsession with the Ames window illusion, explaining that he's been making many different Ames windows. He mentions that the lighting is really important for the illusion to work. He also talks about how he made a large Ames window for a holiday season, explaining that it needed to be at least eight feet on its longest dimension.
He ends the video by expressing his fascination with the Ames window illusion and how it confronts the misconception that scientists propose competing theories and then just look at the data to decide which is the best theory. He mentions that there are many circumstances in which the same data could come from very different external realities, and he uses the Ames illusions as a metaphor for life.
Finally, he thanks NordVPN for sponsoring the video and encourages viewers to get a special deal for the holidays when they go to NordVPN.com/veritasium.
1. The video presents an exploration of the Ames window illusion, a 3D optical illusion where a window appears to oscillate back and forth rather than continuously rotate [Document(page_content="00:00:00.10: I am going to turn myself\ninto an optical illusion\n00:00:03.93: by going through this window right here.\n00:00:06.14: Ah, (grumbles) huh.\n00:00:09.44: Okay, I'm good, oh, not good.\n00:00:13.89: I was gonna say I'm good, I'm not good.\n00:00:15.80: Okay, so you're looking at this window\n00:00:18.33: and it looks like it's turning around,\n00:00:20.06: except here it stops.\n00:00:22.26: Now I keep rotating, but the\nwindow is rotating through me.\n00:00:24.78: What is happening?\n00:00:25.91: This video is sponsored by NordVPN.\n00:00:29.45: They help you create the illusion\n00:00:31.22: that you could be anywhere in the world.\n00:00:34.60: Let me backup for a second.\n00:00:36.37: This is the first part\nof a three part illusion.")].
2. The illusion was created by Adelbert Ames in 1947, who was fascinated by how people perceive shapes and shading [Document(page_content="00:04:02.68: Well, it was created by\nAdelbert Ames back in 1947.\n00:04:04.67: And before becoming a researcher,\n00:04:06.81: he wanted to be a visual artist.\n00:04:08.04: So he was fascinated\n00:04:08.04: by how people perceive shapes and shading.")].
3. The illusion works by exploiting our brain's tendency to infer depth information from trapezoidal shapes, which we assume to be rectangular [Document(page_content="00:05:05.20: But not in the case of\na trapezoidal window\n00:05:07.12: that our brains assume to be rectangular,\nhence the illusion.")].
4. The Ames window illusion was tested in South Africa in 1957, with results showing that people with less experience of rectangles in their environments were less susceptible to the illusion [Document(page_content="00:05:17.00: And to test exactly this, in\n1957 Harvard psychologists\n00:05:21.85: tried the Ames window\nillusion in South Africa\n00:05:24.59: with 80 children, aged 10 to 14.\n00:05:27.63: 40 of them were living\nin the city of Durban\n00:05:29.89: full of rectangular\nbuildings, doors and windows.\n00:05:33.30: The other 40 were from\nnearby rural communities\n00:05:36.78: where they lived in round huts\n00:05:38.52: with few prominent 90 degree angles.")].
5. The Ames window illusion is a manifestation of the technique of anamorphosis, which artists have used for centuries to create distorted projections of objects [Document(page_content="00:06:33.32: This is the de Heer circle,\n00:06:35.20: when rotating continuously,\n00:06:37.84: it also appears to\noscillate back and forth