Motion Perception and Phi Phenomenon

I am glad that we can perceive motion, or else life would be much more difficult! Though we are not perfect at perceiving motion, our brains can "see" motion because it concludes that enlarging objects are approaching us and shrinking objects are retreating. However, larger objects appear to be moving more slowly than smaller objects going at the same speed. This can sometimes be a problem. Also, our eyes do not see continual motion but instead fast still motion pictures, which our brain reconstructs to seem continuous (strobe).

An example of motion perception is staring at a moving object, such as a waterfall. After staring at a waterfall for a minute or two, look at a building or something else standing still and it should look like the object is moving upward. This happens because our brain has gotten used to constructing the motion, so the other object will appear to be in motion now too.

Another illusion dealing with motion perception is the phi phenomenon. The phi phenomenon is an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession. This reinforces the idea that our brain reconstructs still images and makes it appear as if they are moving.