Poggendorff Illusion

The Poggendorff Illusion is a visual phenomenon where a straight line appears misaligned when it passes behind an intersecting shape, like a rectangle or a set of parallel lines. Despite the lines being continuous and perfectly aligned, our brain interprets the segments as displaced. This occurs because the brain processes angles and intersections based on context, which can distort perception of the actual position. Essentially, the illusion reveals how our visual system can be tricked by context, affecting our judgment of straight lines and their alignment even when they are objectively uninterrupted.