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Vote for the Best Illusion of the Year!

Worldwide voting starts on Tuesday at 10am EST

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American


Worldwide voting for the 14th Best Illusion of the Year Contest starts at 10am EST on Tuesday, October 16th, and will remain open until the Top 3 Illusions of the Year are announced on Wednesday, October 18th.

The Top 10 finalist illusions, selected from dozens of entries from countries all around the world, will be publicly revealed at voting time.  

The 2018 Best Illusion of the Year Contest, hosted by the Neural Correlate Society, coincides with the recent announcement that Champions of Illusion, the book that showcases many of the illusions from the Contest and their creators, is longlisted for the AAAS/Subaru Prize for Excellence in Science.


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Anybody with an internet connection can vote on Tuesday and help choose the Top 3 winning illusions from the Top 10 finalists!  The 1st place winner will receive $3,000, the 2nd place winner $2,000, and the 3rd place winner $1,000.

Susana Martinez-Conde is a professor of ophthalmology, neurology, and physiology and pharmacology at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn, N.Y. She is author of the Prisma Prize–winning Sleights of Mind, along with Stephen Macknik and Sandra Blakeslee, and of Champions of Illusion, along with Stephen Macknik.

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