Perception

Reverse Distance

REVERSE DISTANCE contains two parts. In one the visitor tries to touch the tips of two rods together, while looking through prisms that reverse right and left. When the visitor’s hand moves the rod one way, the image seen through the prisms moves the opposite way. When there's a conflict between these two senses, the brain tends to pay attention to the eyes first, making it difficult to touch the tips. The other part of the exhibit consists of two colored rods of the same size which rotate around each other. Since the prisms reverse what is seen, normal distance clues are reversed, and the nearer rod appears to be farther away.