The logo of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics includes red,
white and blue stars, but the white star is not really there: It is an
illusion. Similarly, the “S” in the USA Network logo is wholly illusory.
Both of these logos take advantage of a common perceptual
illusion where the brain, when viewing a fragmented background, frequently sees
shapes and surfaces that don’t really exist.
“It’s hallucinating without taking drugs,” said Alexander
Maier, assistant professor of psychology at Vanderbilt University, who headed a
team of neuroscientists who has pinpointed the area of the brain that is
responsible for these “illusory contours.”