Ponzo Illusion

The Ponzo illusion is an optical illusion that was first demonstrated by the Italian psychologist Mario Ponzo (1882-1960) in 1913. He suggested that the human mind judges an object's size based on its background.

Look at the picture below. Which is longer, the upper yellow line or the lower yellow line?

The upper yellow line looks longer, but if you measure the two lines you will find that they are of the same length.

The upper yellow line looks longer because we interpret the converging sides according to linear perspective as parallel lines receding into the distance. In this context, we interpret the upper line as though it were farther away, so we see it as longer – a farther object would have to be longer than a nearer one for both to produce retinal images of the same size.