As An Optical Illusion or Puzzle
The logo presents a problem in topology. It is a strange loop or rendered as a puzzle
Jurgis Baltrusaitis's (1955) Le Moyen-Âge fantastique. Antiquités et exotismes dans l'art gothique includes a 1576 Dutch engraving with the puzzle given in Dutch and French around the image. It notes:
- The secret is not great when one knows it.
- But it is something to one who does it.
- Turn and turn again and we will also turn,
- So that we give pleasure to each of you.
- And when we have turned, count our ears,
- It is there, without any disguise, you will find a marvel.
"These are the oldest known dated examples of the Three Rabbits as a puzzle." One commentator believes its being a puzzle is likely reason for the image's popularity.
One recent philosophical book poses it as a problem in perception and an optical illusion—an example of contour rivalry. Each rabbit can be individually seen as correct—it is only when you try to see all three at once that you see the problem with defining the hares' ears. This is similar to "The Impossible Tribar" by Roger Penrose, first originated by Oscar Reutersvärd. Compare, M.C. Escher See, Impossible object.
Read more about this topic: Three Hares
Famous quotes containing the words optical, illusion and/or puzzle:
“The convent, which belongs to the West as it does to the East, to antiquity as it does to the present time, to Buddhism and Muhammadanism as it does to Christianity, is one of the optical devices whereby man gains a glimpse of infinity.”
—Victor Hugo (1802–1885)
“The motion picture is like a picture of a lady in a half- piece bathing suit. If she wore a few more clothes, you might be intrigued. If she wore no clothes at all, you might be shocked. But the way it is, you are occupied with noticing that her knees are too bony and that her toenails are too large. The modern film tries too hard to be real. Its techniques of illusion are so perfect that it requires no contribution from the audience but a mouthful of popcorn.”
—Raymond Chandler (1888–1959)
“Waiting for the race to become official, he began to feel as if he had as much effect on the final outcome of the operation as a single piece of a jumbo jigsaw puzzle has to its predetermined final design. Only the addition of the missing fragments of the puzzle would reveal if the picture was as he guessed it would be.”
—Stanley Kubrick (b. 1928)