The surrealist steps

How does the exhibit work?

You see a bunch of wooden slats. Look through the plate with the hole a little further down. Now you see something completely different.

What is the science behind it?

Let’s play with perspective! If you’re looking from the right perspective, you can see a stepladder. That's because your eyes actually see everything as a "flat" surface, like in a photograph.

But you can see depth, can't you? Thanks to your brain. Your eyes send those "flat" images to your brain, which turns them into 3D images. This allows you to estimate how far away something is or how big something is.

Or at least most of the time... With this stepladder, you don't immediately notice that some parts are further away. You can fool your brain! That’s why it’s sometimes difficult to see the difference between a small object nearby and a large object further away.

Perspective in butterflies

Here you see the pupa of a butterfly. Although it is very small, it can be mistaken for a monkey's face from a distance. This is how it scares off predators, who don't realise how small it really is.

(Photo: Haneesh K M., CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Perspective in travel

Playing with perspective makes for the coolest holiday photos. Do you have one of those?