Ames room
Encyclopedia
Optical illusion
An optical illusion is characterized by visually perceived images that differ from objective reality. The information gathered by the eye is processed in the brain to give a perception that does not tally with a physical measurement of the stimulus source...
. Probably influenced by the writings of Hermann Helmholtz, it was invented by American ophthalmologist Adelbert Ames, Jr.
Adelbert Ames, Jr.
Adelbert Ames, Jr. was an American scientist who made contributions to physics, physiology, ophthalmology, psychology, and philosophy. He pioneered the study of physiological optics at Dartmouth College, serving as a research professor, then as director of research at the Dartmouth Eye Institute...
in 1934, and constructed in the following year.
An Ames room is constructed so that from the front it appears to be an ordinary cubic-shaped room, with a back wall and two side walls parallel to each other and perpendicular to the horizontally level floor and ceiling. However, this is a trick of perspective
Perspective (visual)
Perspective, in context of vision and visual perception, is the way in which objects appear to the eye based on their spatial attributes; or their dimensions and the position of the eye relative to the objects...
and the true shape of the room is trapezoid
Trapezoid
In Euclidean geometry, a convex quadrilateral with one pair of parallel sides is referred to as a trapezoid in American English and as a trapezium in English outside North America. A trapezoid with vertices ABCD is denoted...
al: the walls are slanted and the ceiling and floor are at an incline, and the right corner is much closer to the front-positioned observer than the left corner (or vice versa).
As a result of the optical illusion, a person standing in one corner appears to the observer to be a giant, while a person standing in the other corner appears to be a dwarf. The illusion is so convincing that a person walking back and forth from the left corner to the right corner appears to grow or shrink.
Studies have shown that the illusion can be created without using walls and a ceiling; it is sufficient to create an apparent horizon (which in reality will not be horizontal) against an appropriate background, and the eye relies on the apparent relative height of an object above that horizon.
"Anti-gravity" illusion and "magnetic mountains"
Ames' original design also contained a groove that was positioned such that a ball in it appears to roll uphill, against gravity. Richard GregoryRichard Gregory
Richard Langton Gregory, CBE, MA, D.Sc., FRSE, FRS was a British psychologist and Emeritus Professor of Neuropsychology at the University of Bristol.-Life and career:...
regards this apparent "anti-gravity" effect as more amazing than the apparent size changes, although today it is often not shown when an Ames room is exhibited.
He speculates that "magnetic" hills or "gravity" hills
Gravity hill
A gravity hill, also known as a magnetic hill , is a place where the layout of the surrounding land produces the optical illusion that a very slight downhill slope appears to be an uphill slope...
can be explained by this principle. For a magic mountain at an unnamed location in Scotland, he found that row of trees form a background similar to the setting of an Ames room, making the water in a creek appear to flow uphill.
For Gregory, this observation raises particularly interesting questions about how different principles for understanding the world compete in our perception. The "anti-gravity effect" is a much stronger paradox than the "size change" effect, because it seems to negate the law of gravity which is a very fundamental feature of the world. It seems counterintuitive that the expectation "rooms are rectangular" can override such a fundamental experience. In contrast, the apparent size change is not such a strong paradox, as we do have the experience that objects can change size to a certain degree (for example, people and animals can become smaller or larger by crouching or stretching).
Honi phenomenon
A type of selective perceptual distortion known as the Honi phenomenon causes some married persons to perceive less size distortion of the spouse than a stranger in an Ames room.The effect was related to the strength of love, liking, and trust of the spouse being viewed. Women who were high positive in this area perceived strangers as being more distorted than their partners. Size judgements by men did not seem to be influenced by the strength of their feeling toward their spouse.
Further study has come to the conclusion that the Honi phenomenon does not reliably exist as first thought, but may be explained as sex difference influencing perception, with women interpreting a larger reading as a more meaningful or valuable perception of things than men's.
In media
The Ames room principle has been used widely in TV and movie productions for special effects when it was necessary to show actors in giant size next to actors in small size. For example, production of The Lord of the Rings film trilogyThe Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
used several Ames room sets in Shire sequences to make the heights of the diminutively-sized hobbits correct when standing next to the taller Gandalf
Gandalf
Gandalf is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these stories, Gandalf appears as a wizard, member and later the head of the order known as the Istari, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West...
.
When used for special effects, the viewers will not see that an Ames room is being used. However, a few times an Ames room has also been shown explicitly. An Ames room is depicted in the 1971 film adaptation
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is a 1971 musical film adaptation of the 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, directed by Mel Stuart, and starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. The film tells the story of Charlie Bucket as he receives a golden ticket and visits Willy...
of the Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter.Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander...
novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a 1964 children's book by British author Roald Dahl. The story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of the eccentric chocolatier, Willy Wonka....
. The 1960s television series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (TV series)
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea is a 1960s American science fiction television series based on the 1961 film of the same name. Both were created by Irwin Allen, which enabled the movie's sets, costumes, props, special effects models, and sometimes footage, to be used in the production of the...
used an Ames room in one episode to show, rather than just declare, an attempt to make two characters (one standing on each side of the room) lose their minds.
The video for "The Denial Twist
The Denial Twist
"The Denial Twist" is the third single released from American alternative rock band The White Stripes' 2005 album, Get Behind Me Satan.-Track listing:*CD version# "The Denial Twist" – 2:35# "Shelter of Your Arms" – 3:30...
" by The White Stripes
The White Stripes
The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
employs an Ames room and other techniques of false perspective.
The 2010 HBO film Temple Grandin
Temple Grandin (film)
Temple Grandin is a 2010 biopic directed by Mick Jackson and starring Claire Danes as Temple Grandin, a woman with autism who revolutionized practices for the humane handling of livestock on cattle ranches and slaughterhouses.-Plot synopsis:...
utilized an Ames room in the opening title sequence, and later figures in the actual story, where the title character, with high-functioning autism, intuitively devises the illusion in a scale model as a science project.
The cover of "On the Level
On The Level
On The Level is the eighth Status Quo studio album. It features Francis Rossi, Richard Parfitt, Alan Lancaster and John Coghlan. The album's cover art features band members in an Ames room, and on the original vinyl release, the inner gatefold sleeve consisted of informal photos members of the...
", a 1975 album by the rock band Status Quo features the band in an Ames room.