The moon illusion - Andrew Vanden Heuvel

Mesečeva iluzija - Endru Vanden Hojvel (Andrew Vanden Heuvel)

Prevodilac: Miloš Milosavljević Lektor: Mile Živković

Have you ever noticed

Da li ste ikada primetili

how the full moon looks bigger

kako pun mesec izgleda veći

when it's near the horizon

kad je na horizontu

than when it's high over head?

nego kad je visoko iznad glave?

If so, you're not alone.

Ako jeste, niste jedini.

People have wondered about this strange effect

Ljudi su se pitali o ovom neobičnom efektu

since ancient times,

još od davnih vremena

and surprisingly, we still don't have

i iznenađujuće je da još uvek nemamo

a great explanation,

sjajno objašnjenje,

but that's not for lack of trying.

ali to nije zbog toga što nismo pokušavali.

Some of the greatest minds in history -

Neki od najvećih umova u istoriji -

Aristotle,

Aristotel,

Ptolemy,

Ptolomej,

Da Vinci,

Decartes

Da Vinči,

Dekart -

- have all wrestled with this problem

svi su se borili s ovim problemom

and failed to generate an adequate explanation.

i nisu uspeli da nađu adekvatno objašnjenje.

One of the first ideas suggested

Jedno od prvih mišljenja

was that the image of the moon in the sky

bilo je to da je slika meseca na nebu

really is bigger near the horizon.

stvarno veća na horizontu.

Perhaps the Earth's atmosphere acts like a giant lens,

Možda se Zemljina atmosfera ponaša kao ogromno sočivo,

magnifying the moon as it rises and sets.

uvećavajući mesec dok izlazi i zalazi.

But this explanation doesn't cut it.

Ali ovo objašnjenje nije zadovoljavajuće.

If anything, the refraction of the atmosphere

Ako ništa drugo, prelamanje svetlosti u atmosferi

would make the moon look slightly smaller.

bi učinilo da mesec izgleda malo manji.

Plus, if you actually measure

Plus, ako merite

the size of the visible moon

veličinu vidljivog meseca

at different positions,

na različitim pozicijama,

it doesn't change at all.

ona se uopšte ne menja.

But then, why does it still seem bigger

Ali zašto onda izgleda veći

when it's rising?

kada izlazi?

This must be some kind of optical illusion.

To mora da je neka vrsta optičke varke.

The question is, which one?

Pitanje je, koje?

One explanation is the Ebbinghaus Illusion,

Jedno objašnjenje je Ebinghausova iluzija

where two identical objects look different

gde dva identična objekta izgledaju različito

because of the relative size

zbog relativne veličine

of the objects they're surrounded by.

objekata koji ih okružuju.

Here the two center circles are actually the same size.

Ovde su dva kruga u sredini u stvari iste veličine.

Maybe the moon looks bigger near the horizon

Možda mesec izgleda veći na horizontu

because it's next to tiny trees,

jer je pored sićušnog drveća,

houses,

and towers in the distance.

kuća

i kula u daljini.

But when the moon is higher up,

Ali kada je mesec visoko,

it's surrounded by the vast darkness of the night sky

okružen je ogromnom tminom noćnog neba

and looks tiny by comparison.

i izgleda sitno kad se uporedi.

Another possibility is the famous Ponzo Illusion.

Druga mogućnost je čuvena Ponzo iluzija.

If you've ever tried to draw in perspective,

Ako ste ikada pokušali da crtate u perspektivi,

you know that the closer something is to the horizon,

znate da, što je nešto bliže horizontu,

the smaller you should draw it.

to manjeg treba da ga nacrtate.

Our brain compensates automatically for this

Naš mozak se automatski prilagođava ovome

by perceiving objects near the horizon

tako što opaža objekte bliže horizontu

as larger than they actually appear.

kao veće nego što u stvari jesu.

The two yellow lines in this drawing

Dve žute linije na ovom crtežu

are the same size,

su iste veličine,

but the upper one seems bigger

ali gornja izgleda veća

because we interpret it as receding

jer je tumačimo kao da uzmiče

farther into the horizon.

dalje ka horizontu.

So, between Ponzo and Ebbinghaus,

Tako da, između Ponzoa i Ebinghausa,

it seems like we've solved the mystery

izgleda kao da smo rešili misteriju

of the moon illusion,

mesečeve iluzije,

but, unfortunately, there are a few details

ali nažalost, ima nekoliko detalja

that complicate things.

koji komplikuju stvari.

For one thing, if this was just the Ebbinghaus effect,

Kao prvo, ako bi ovo bio samo Ebinghausov efekat,

then we would expect the moon illusion

onda bismo očekivali da mesečeva iluzija

to disappear for pilots flying high above the clouds

prestane da važi za pilote koji lete iznad oblaka,

since there wouldn't be any other smaller objects

pošto onda nema drugih malih objekata

near the horizon.

u blizini horizonta.

But in fact, pilots and sailors out on the ocean

Ali, piloti i mornari na okeanu

still claim to see the moon illusion.

tvrde da takođe vide mesečevu iluziju.

On the other hand, if it's just our brain's autocorrecting

S druge strane, ako bi bilo samo do našeg mozga koji koriguje

the size of objects near the horizon,

veličinu objekata blizu horizonta,

then we'd expect the moon illusion

onda bismo očekivali da mesečeva iluzija

to be visible inside a planetarium,

bude vidljiva u planetarijumu,

where the whole sky,

gde je celo nebo

including the horizon,

uključujući i horizont

is displayed on a spherical dome overhead.

prikazano na sferičnoj kupoli iznad glave.

Studies have shown, though,

Ipak, proučavanja su pokazala

that this is not the case.

da to nije slučaj.

To make matters worse,

Da stvar bude još gora,

it seems the moon illusion disappears entirely

izgleda da mesečeva iluzija potpuno nestaje

if you just bend over

ako se sagnete

and look at the moon between your legs.

i pogledate mesec kroz svoje noge.

Now, this is just getting ridiculous!

Sad već ovo postaje smešno!

One of the most promising explanations today

Jedno od objašnjenja koja najviše obećavaju danas

is known as Convergence Micropsia.

je ono pod nazivom "konvergentna mikropsija".

Our brains judge the distance to objects

Naš mozak sudi o udaljenosti objekata

and their apparent size

i o njihovoj prividnoj veličini

by the focus of our eyes.

fokusiranjem pomoću očiju.

When looking at the horizon,

Kad gledate u horizont

your eyes focus far off into the distance

vaše oči se fokusiraju u daljinu,

so your brain knows you're looking far away.

tako da vaš mozak zna da gledate daleko.

The moon appears a certain size.

Mesec se pojavljuje u određenoj veličini.

Your brain thinks it's far away,

Vaš mozak misli da je to daleko,

which it is,

što i jeste,

so you naturally conclude the moon must be big.

tako da prirodno zaključujete da mesec mora da je veliki.

But when looking up at the night sky,

Ali kad pogledate nagore u noćno nebo,

there's nothing for your eyes to focus on,

nema ničega na šta bi se vaše oči fokusirale,

so they default to their rest focus,

tako da se one vraćaju na svoj prvobitni fokus,

which is a point just a few meters away.

a to je tačka udaljena svega nekoliko metara.

Now your brain thinks the moon is much closer

Sada vaš mozak misli da je mesec mnogo bliže

than it really is,

nego što stvarno jeste,

so you naturally conclude

tako da prirodno zaključujete

the moon's not as big as you thought it was.

da mesec nije tako veliki kao što ste mislili.

Rather than explain why the moon

Pre nego da objašnjava zašto mesec

looks so big near the horizon,

izgleda tako veliki na horizontu,

Convergence Microspia explains

konvergentna mikropsija objašnjava

why the moon looks so small when overhead.

zašto mesec izgleda tako mali kada je iznad glave.

Still not satisfied?

Još uvek niste zadovoljni?

Well, frankly, neither are many scientists,

Pa, iskreno, nisu ni mnogi naučnici,

so the debate over the moon illusion still rages on

tako da debata o mesečevoj iluziji i dalje traje

and may continue as long as we still see it

i možda će se nastaviti dok god ga budemo videli

in the night sky.

na noćnom nebu.