Dots with Personality

This virtual toy is demo from the BioMotion Lab. While you're playing around with it, think about this: "This tool demonstrates that biologically and socially relevant information about a person is conveyed in biological motion patterns. It allows you to manipulate a number of parameters controlling the characteristics of human walking. You can interactively change biological properties, personality traits and emotional expression of a point-light walker. " Personality traits! With a bunch of dots!!!

Which made me very much want to check out the collection of "Favourite Links," which led me to the puzzling delights of George Mather's Motion Perception - a collection of 14 different animated illusions. After which I found myself wandering in something close to visual glee in Michael Bach's collection of Optical Illusions and Visual Phenomena.

It's a strange kind of fun, this journey through animated optical illusions. You wouldn't think the eye would have a sense of humor. But fool the eye enough, and it can make the whole mind laugh almost out loud.