Size adaptation: Do you know it when you see it?
This page contains selected demos from the paper Size adaptation: Do you know it when you see it?, co-authored with Sam Clarke. This is part of a larger project in which we explore the nature of visual adaptation. What we hope people can appreciate about these demos is that they are far from phenomenologically compelling. In the best cases, the effect on size is subtle; in the worst cases, there is not any appreciable effect of size at all. But in all of these cases, we observed what appears to be robust size adaptation in a lab experiment. Why is that, and what should it tell us about adaptation in general?
Demo #0: Color adaptation, for comparison
This is a canonical demonstration of color adaptation. After you stare at the colorful image, you subsequently perceive color in a colorless image. As you can see if you move your eyes, the second image that you see has no color at all. The color that you see is caused by a repulsive aftereffect — adaptation.
Demo #1: Standard size adaptation
This is a demonstration of standard size adaptation using simple geometric shapes.
Demo #2: Reverse size adaptation
This is a demonstration of reverse size adaptation using simple geometric shapes.
Demo #3: Size adaptation - color swaps
This is a demonstration of size adaptation with color swaps.
Demo #4: ‘Cornsweet’ - Standard
This is a demo of standard size adaptation using ‘Cornsweet’ stimuli.
Demo #5: ‘Cornsweet’ - Reverse
This is a demo of reverse size adaptation using ‘Cornsweet’ stimuli.