books by Al Seckel (impossible philosophy incredible)

books by Al Seckel

books:

4 reviews
Al Seckel

Firefly Books, 2005

Great for kids, too...
This book has hundreds of drawings and photographs that trick the eye in one way or another (color, perspective, hidden pictures, illusions of movement, etc). After every 20 pages or so there is a page that has a one or two sentence blurb giving background information or commentary on each illusion. My kids (ages 5 and 7) love looking through this book, and it's a great mental exercise for them, ...

SuperVisions: Impossible Optical Illusions (Supervisions)

1 review
Al Seckel

Sterling, 2005

Wounderful Book to keep kids busy
This book will keep my kids busy for hours. I needed the rest and they needed the fun.

Optical Illusions: The Science of Visual Perception (Illusion Works)

2 reviews
Al Seckel

Firefly Books, 2009

Nice book, very misleading title.
One of the most beautiful and wonderful books I own is Al Seckel's "Masters of Deception: Escher, Dali & the Artists of Optical Illusions" (2004). Unlike most other books on illusions, the book itself is a creative tour de force. And Seckel supplements his creation with visually striking and important media at his website. I think I've already given away as many as ten copies of that book to ...

Masters of Deception: Escher, Dali & the Artists of Optical Illusion

31 reviews
Al Seckel

Sterling, 2007

Deceptively great
This book has some fabulous paintings and drawings which as the book states can be really deceptive. My children are both fascinated with it and spend lots of time studying it. They enjoy showing it to their friends and it is very entertaining. A great coffee table book.

SuperVisions: Ambiguous Optical Illusions (Super Visions)

1 review
Al Seckel

Sterling, 2005

a great compilation of optical illusions
There are great pictures in this compilation of optical illusions. Many hidden things and some quite obvious, but a great beach read. It'll make your head hurt to look at them alot, but it's well worth it.

The Ultimate Book of Optical Illusions

4 reviews
Al Seckel

Sterling, 2006

exceeded expectations, fun for whole family
I cannot tell you how pleased I am with this book. I had been loooking for a "science-y" type book to donate to my son's kindergarten class - something to get kids excited about science other than dinosaurs. Well, my son got so excited when he started "getting" the illusions that I literally thought he was going to have a potty accident. He wanted to look at page after page - some of the ...

SuperVisions: Action Optical Illusions (Super Visions)
Al Seckel

Sterling, 2005

How can a flat page have pictures that actually seem to move ? That's what these 90 action illusions--the largest such compilation ever assembled--succeed in doing. Through the magic of visual effects, including the careful use of color and brightness, static images become animated and solid shapes deform right before your eyes. Some of the illusions appear to hover in the air; others produce afterimages of bright color or produce a sensation ...

SuperVisions: Topsy-Turvy Optical Illusions (Supervisions)

1 review
Al Seckel

Sterling, 2006

What FUN!
I bought this book for our 7 year old twins before we went on vacation. We had so much fun sharing this book. It is extremely clever. All of the illusions were fantastic. We have now become a family always lookng for illusions in the everyday things we see. If you are looking for a gift for a child of any age, they will enjoy wandering through the pages of this adventure in illusions.

Bertrand Russell on God and Religion (Great Books in Philosophy)

7 reviews
Bertrand Russell

Prometheus Books, 1986

Everything I expected
After reading 'Why I am not a christian', I was excited to find that there existed an even larger collection of Mr. Russells essays. Some of the essays in this book are already in 'Why I am not a christian', including that particular essay. The others I had not read before were informative, well-structured, and balanced. He was truly a man ahead of his time.

Art Of Optical Illusions

18 reviews
Al Seckel

Carlton Books, 2000

The very best
The award for "Best Book for Young Adults" was an understatement. My boys could not put it down! And their friends come over and get totally absorbed in it too! I watched all of them crowd around this book and discuss each image endlessly. Finally, something tore them away from playstation! Thank you Al!

Bertrand Russell on Ethics, Sex, and Marriage (Great Books in Philosophy)

Prometheus Books, 1987

SuperVisions: Geometric Optical Illusions (Supervisions)

1 review
Al Seckel

Sterling, 2005

Pretty, but ultimately unsatisfying
(Note, I originally gave this 3 stars but now would call it 2, although the system won't let me change that. See Edit note at the end.) The book contains about 90 or so optical illusions. The illusions are mainly along the lines of things that look curved when they are actually straight, things like look different sizes when they are a really the same size if you measure them, and similar. Many ...

Optical Teasers: Sink Back And Solve Away! (Armchair Puzzlers)

1 review
Al Seckel

University Games, 2004

Absolutely terrific for kids!
This inexpensive little volume is by far the best book you can give your kids to occupy their minds with while traveling, or just trying to get them to be totally preoccupied by themselves. Boys and girls will become absolutely glued to this book, pondering over it, and sharing it with their friends, as the large variety of black and white illusions are incredible in their effects. They will ...

More Optical Illusions (Illusion Works)

4 reviews
Al Seckel

Carlton Books, 2002

The Seckel Tandem, the King & Queen of Illusions
The 2 Seckel optical illusion collections (this volume + "Art of...") are the best collaborations I've ever seen on the subject. Not limited by or to the trite everyday old-time "dot-outside-box" stuff relegated to kids, these 2 volumes sample every category in optical-illusion science, including perspective, color, a whole host of 3D/1D impossible objects (including our old friend, the ...

The Fantastic World of Optical Illusions
Al Seckel

Carlton Books Ltd, 2002

Optical illusions have been fascinating our minds for centuries. By defying common perception and the workings of the eye with subtle, mind-teasing images, we gain a greater understanding of the way we ourselves look at the world, and how we can deceive ourselves regarding it. This lavishly produced book, contains some 280 of the most stunningly beautiful, involving and mind-stretching optical illusions reproduced in colour and black and white. ...

SuperVisions: Stereo Optical Illusions (Supervisions)

1 review
Al Seckel

Sterling, 2006

A big hit at the Christmas party.
I gave this to my (adult) brother, and it was a big hit with everyone in the room. All the kids used it, and most of the adults. It was very engaging.

Incredible Visual Illusions (You won't believe your eyes!)

2 reviews
Al Seckel

Arcturus Publishing, Ltd., 2006

An excellent companion to J Richard Block's Can You Believe Your Eyes!
Visual illusions have always fascinated me. This coffee table size book contains close to 300 different visual illusions. I believe it is the most comprehensive & amazing collection of visual illusions ever assembled. This collection has been created by Al Seckel, a cognitive vision scientist of the CALTECH. The best learning experiences I got out of visual illusions are a greater ...