Why Do Shapes Appear Distorted When You Look at Them?

Shapes can seem bent or stretched when you look at them, even if they're perfectly straight. It's like looking at a pencil on the floor, it seems crooked from where you’re standing, but it’s actually straight! Your eyes help your brain figure out how far away something is, and that makes things look squished or stretched depending on the angle.

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Examples

  1. Looking at a straight line on the floor makes it look slanted.
  2. A square tile near your feet appears wider than one further away.
  3. Walking down a hallway, the walls seem to come together in the distance.

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