House of Mystery / Mystery Spot / 'Vortex' Sites & Attractions

[ramonmercado]

Mystery Spot demonstrates power of perception

Mystery Spot demonstrates power of perception

For years, UC Santa Cruz psychology professor Bruce Bridgeman has taken college students to the Mystery Spot, a popular local tourist attraction, to demonstrate how the human brain works.

Tourists flock to the Mystery Spot to enjoy the "puzzling variations in gravity, perspective, height and more," leaving baffled and perplexed by the apparent exceptions to the laws of physics and gravity.

But for Bridgeman, the site is a powerful--and entertaining--way to demonstrate the influence of the visual context on perception. "It shows that you can teach serious science in unexpected places," said Bridgeman, who has published a scholarly article that explains the perceptual effects at work at the Mystery Spot. His article, "Influence of Visually Induced Expectation on Perceived Motor Effort: A Visual-Proprioceptive Interaction at the Santa Cruz Mystery Spot," appears in the current issue of Psychonomic Bulletin and Review.

Mystery Spot visitors will recognize the scene of Bridgeman's research: In a cabin on a steep hillside, an 8 kg. weight hangs on a chain from the ceiling. Although the weight hangs vertically, the tilt of the cabin makes the weight appear to be suspended at an angle. Visitors find that pushing the weight one way is perceived as much more difficult than pushing it the other way. Rather than a magical defiance of gravity, the explanation lies in the "mismatch" between expectations and the actual weight: Expectations based on visual information override the proprioceptive experience of moving the weight. (Often referred to as the sixth sense, proprioception is an unconscious aspect of the sensory system that provides information essential to movement.)

Far from spoiling the fun, Bridgeman said understanding the phenomenon adds to the enjoyment of a visit to the Mystery Spot. "To me, it's much more fun to have something that's real than not," said Bridgeman. "The real fun is that you can learn about how your mind works in an interesting setting." Mystery Spot managers welcomed the experiment, he added.

In the study, seven subjects pushed the pendulum away from vertical in both directions and were asked to judge the required effort on a 1 - 10 scale, with 1 described as "effortless" and 10 "immovable." All participants experienced the "effort illusion": perceived effort in pushing toward visual vertical was significantly greater than perceived effort in pushing away from visual vertical.

"The tilt of the cabin makes it appear that the pendulum is suspended in an impossible position," said Bridgeman. "It is as though some additional force holds the weight in this unstable position. That's why the visual illusion is so compelling, and why the expected force applied is so dramatically different from the actual force needed to move the weight." Pushing the weight toward what appears to be vertical will always require more force than expected, and pushing it away will always require less.

"The visual context strongly influences what you perceive, and you can't escape it, even if you know better," said Bridgeman. "Expectations and assumptions are as important to perceived weight as the actual effort required to move objects."

And what does the professor hope students take away from their visit to the Mystery Spot?

"We think of our perceptions as being pretty much accurate, but they seldom are," said Bridgeman, noting that people are notoriously inaccurate when they attempt to estimate things like distance and the slope of a hill, too. "The philosophy of the brain is not to be totally accurate but to reduce the chance of error. Perception in the service of action is error reduction."

In other words, he said, "We're wrong, but we're right enough to get us there."

Source: UC Santa Cruz
http://www.physorg.com/news6971.html

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Re: Mystery Spot demonstrates power of perception

Mystery Spot demonstrates power of perception

For years, UC Santa Cruz psychology professor Bruce Bridgeman has taken college students to the Mystery Spot, a popular local tourist attraction, to demonstrate how the human brain works.

Tourists flock to the Mystery Spot to enjoy the "puzzling variations in gravity, perspective, height and more," leaving baffled and perplexed by the apparent exceptions to the laws of physics and gravity.

But for Bridgeman, the site is a powerful--and entertaining--way to demonstrate the influence of the visual context on perception. "It shows that you can teach serious science in unexpected places," said Bridgeman, who has published a scholarly article that explains the perceptual effects at work at the Mystery Spot. His article, "Influence of Visually Induced Expectation on Perceived Motor Effort: A Visual-Proprioceptive Interaction at the Santa Cruz Mystery Spot," appears in the current issue of Psychonomic Bulletin and Review.

.....

Source: UC Santa Cruz
http://www.physorg.com/news6971.html

Mystery Spot solved?
BY ROGER SIDEMAN


SANTA CRUZ — Before science began explaining the great unknowns in the universe, those who needed a dose of wonderment could simply gaze up at the dark magic of a starry night. But science has forced us to seek out new phenomena to boggle the mind.
The Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz is one such attraction. It’s billed as a mysterious point where some laws of physics are temporarily suspended as the result of a confluence of magnetic fields.
Depending on whom you believe, it is either a passport to the paranormal or one terrific family-friendly tourist trap.
Tour guide Sophia Foxworthy said the energy vortex makes objects defy gravity and other laws of nature. Indeed, balls roll uphill and people appear dramatically taller or shorter as they switch places.
The woodsy, hilly property near Highway 1, with steep slopes and skewed angles, also includes a slanted wooden shack that slid off its foundation, as the story goes. The house then became the perfect laboratory for demonstrating that "every law of gravity has gone haywire," according to a brochure.
The Mystery Spot, which opened in 1940, has been part of many national television specials. Every year, it draws thousands of tourists, mystics, psychics, scientists and those obsessed with the unexplainable.
One-third of the mystery seekers come from the Watsonville area, owner Christopher Smith said. But with nearly 1,000 visitors, mostly tourists, passing through on the Thursday between Christmas and New Year’s, their diversity matched that of any great world attraction.
One tour group included Mexicans, Cubans and a group of Shanghai salesmen in town for a conference at Intel.
Esteben Laguardia emigrated from his native Cuba just four days ago. He visited with family from Los Angeles.
"I can’t tell if it’s real or something supernatural," he said in Spanish.
The Mystery Spot, with its hills and weird angles, can leave people feeling disoriented and susceptible to tricks of the mind and eye.
"I think it’s true!" 8-year-old Jennifer Li confidently shouted to her parents.
Nevertheless, scientists and other skeptics do not buy it.
Bruce Bridgeman, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, said the site is a powerful — and entertaining — way to demonstrate the influence of the visual context on perception. For years, Bridgeman has taken college students to the Mystery Spot to demonstrate how the human brain works.
"It shows that you can teach serious science in unexpected places," said Bridgeman, who has published a scholarly article that explains the perceptual effects at work at the Mystery Spot.
Mystery Spot visitors will recognize the scene of Bridgeman’s research: In a cabin on a steep hillside, an 8 kilogram weight hangs on a chain from the ceiling. Although the weight hangs vertically, the tilt of the cabin makes the weight appear to be suspended at an angle. Visitors find that pushing the weight one way is perceived as much more difficult than pushing it the other way.
Rather than a magical defiance of gravity, the explanation lies in the "mismatch" between expectations and the actual weight: Expectations based on visual information override the physical feeling of moving the weight.
Far from spoiling the fun, Bridgeman said understanding the phenomenon adds to the enjoyment of a visit to the Mystery Spot.
"To me, it’s much more fun to have something that’s real than not," he said. "The real fun is that you can learn about how your mind works in an interesting setting."
Mystery Spot managers welcomed the experiment, he added.
ooo
The Mystery Spot is open every day of the year. Winter hours are 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admission is $5. For more information, call 423-8897 or visit www.mysteryspot.com

www.register-pajaronian.com/main.php?st ... 279&page=1

 

[Mister_Awesome]

I HAVE been to the Oregon Vortex. After we were left to our own devices, I fiddled around with the broom trick (making it stand). I was about 13, I believe, so I don't remember too well, but I think it stood more easily than I would have expected. I couldn't make a branch stand upright. The idea is that the trees are all growing at an angle, which causes the disorientation. I think the story about the incomplete building there is that they cut the wood, but when they brought it there, it didn't match up anymore. Strange place.

 

[escargot]

I'm hoping to visit The Mystery Spot in May, and will be reporting back.

The Mystery Spot is a gravitational anomaly located in the redwood forests just outside of Santa Cruz, California. It is a circular area of effect around 150 feet or 46 meters in diameter. Within the Mystery Spot you will be stunned as your perceptions of the laws of physics and gravity are questioned. But don't take our word for it, come and decide for yourself!

The Mystery Spot was discovered in 1939 by a group of surveyors and opened to the public in 1940. The Mystery Spot has amazed and perplexed hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world, and many return time and time again to experience these puzzling variations of gravity, perspective, and height.

Some speculate that cones of metal were secretly brought here and buried in our earth as guidance systems for their spacecraft. Some think that it is in fact the spacecraft itself burried deep within the ground. Other theories include carbon dioxide permeating from the earth, a hole in the ozone layer, a magma vortex, the highest dielectric biocosmic radiation known anywhere in the world, and radiesthesia. Whatever the cause is, it remains a mystery.

 

[Ermintruder]

I'm hoping to visit The Mystery Spot in May, and will be reporting back.

@escargot1 although this was posted by you 7 years ago, I'm unsure as to what you actually thought about the Mystery Spot, in Santa Cruz. I was only a lurker on the old forums, plus they seemed less readable/searchable back then.

Can you please give some insights as to what it was like, for you? I recently was speaking with an ex-colleague who was out there whilst on holiday, and they raved about how utterly amazing it was (they are not someone that's easily-impressed, but they don't really share my jaded omniskepticism...). I am intrigued.....

It does seem potentially something more than just a Ripley's ripoff (I read somewhere about even trees and plants in that vicinity displaying strange growth patterns as well....which is potentially difficult to falsify).

All comments back regarding this location are welcome. Is it just a plastic Nessie for the tourists? Or a genuine geogravitational anomaly?

 

[hunck]

@escargot1 although this was posted by you 7 years ago, I'm unsure as to what you actually thought about the Mystery Spot, in Santa Cruz. I was only a lurker on the old forums, plus they seemed less readable/searchable back then.

Can you please give some insights as to what it was like, for you? I recently was speaking with an ex-colleague who was out there whilst on holiday, and they raved about how utterly amazing it was (they are not someone that's easily-impressed, but they don't really share my jaded omniskepticism...). I am intrigued.....

It does seem potentially something more than just a Ripley's ripoff (I read somewhere about even trees and plants in that vicinity displaying strange growth patterns as well....which is potentially difficult to falsify).

All comments back regarding this location are welcome. Is it just a plastic Nessie for the tourists? Or a genuine geogravitational anomaly?

I couldn't see much other than a hut built at an angle on a hill giving an interesting optical illusion. Still looks a fun visit though.

 

[Ermintruder]

Still looks a fun visit though.

Let's see what @escargot1 says on this, if she got there. Or @McAvennie , who might've fitted-in a visit back in 2010.

@ramonmercado posted this on Oct 5 2005

Mystery Spot demonstrates power of perception

For years, UC Santa Cruz psychology professor Bruce Bridgeman has taken college students to the Mystery Spot, a popular local tourist attraction, to demonstrate how the human brain works.

Tourists flock to the Mystery Spot to enjoy the "puzzling variations in gravity, perspective, height and more," leaving baffled and perplexed by the apparent exceptions to the laws of physics and gravity.

But for Bridgeman, the site is a powerful--and entertaining--way to demonstrate the influence of the visual context on perception. "It shows that you can teach serious science in unexpected places," said Bridgeman, who has published a scholarly article that explains the perceptual effects at work at the Mystery Spot. His article, "Influence of Visually Induced Expectation on Perceived Motor Effort: A Visual-Proprioceptive Interaction at the Santa Cruz Mystery Spot," appears in the current issue of Psychonomic Bulletin and Review.

Mystery Spot visitors will recognize the scene of Bridgeman's research: In a cabin on a steep hillside, an 8 kg. weight hangs on a chain from the ceiling. Although the weight hangs vertically, the tilt of the cabin makes the weight appear to be suspended at an angle. Visitors find that pushing the weight one way is perceived as much more difficult than pushing it the other way. Rather than a magical defiance of gravity, the explanation lies in the "mismatch" between expectations and the actual weight: Expectations based on visual information override the proprioceptive experience of moving the weight. (Often referred to as the sixth sense, proprioception is an unconscious aspect of the sensory system that provides information essential to movement.)

Far from spoiling the fun, Bridgeman said understanding the phenomenon adds to the enjoyment of a visit to the Mystery Spot. "To me, it's much more fun to have something that's real than not," said Bridgeman. "The real fun is that you can learn about how your mind works in an interesting setting." Mystery Spot managers welcomed the experiment, he added.

In the study, seven subjects pushed the pendulum away from vertical in both directions and were asked to judge the required effort on a 1 - 10 scale, with 1 described as "effortless" and 10 "immovable." All participants experienced the "effort illusion": perceived effort in pushing toward visual vertical was significantly greater than perceived effort in pushing away from visual vertical.

"The tilt of the cabin makes it appear that the pendulum is suspended in an impossible position," said Bridgeman. "It is as though some additional force holds the weight in this unstable position. That's why the visual illusion is so compelling, and why the expected force applied is so dramatically different from the actual force needed to move the weight." Pushing the weight toward what appears to be vertical will always require more force than expected, and pushing it away will always require less.

"The visual context strongly influences what you perceive, and you can't escape it, even if you know better," said Bridgeman. "Expectations and assumptions are as important to perceived weight as the actual effort required to move objects."

And what does the professor hope students take away from their visit to the Mystery Spot?

"We think of our perceptions as being pretty much accurate, but they seldom are," said Bridgeman, noting that people are notoriously inaccurate when they attempt to estimate things like distance and the slope of a hill, too. "The philosophy of the brain is not to be totally accurate but to reduce the chance of error. Perception in the service of action is error reduction."

In other words, he said, "We're wrong, but we're right enough to get us there."

Source: UC Santa Cruz
http://www.physorg.com/news6971.html

But....

I've seen references to visitors at the attraction being welcomed to bring along bubble-levels and laser-pens, to research/ test the place. Perhaps these claims are untrue. As may be the references to idiogeotropic plant-growth (twisty trees....I now can't find the references)

 

[EnolaGaia]

this place in italy, called <parco dei mostri> (monsters' park), in bomarzo, about one hour and a half from rome, was built by a bizarre XVI century guy from a noble family. it houses sculptures of various monsters (supposed to be scary, but actually quite funny looking, and also poorly crafted) and also the crooked house portrayed in the picture: it was built like that to mess up the visitors'perceptions. it works, because when you go there you don't immediately realize how crooked it is, and you end up confused - a bit nauseous, more than anything else. ...

Photo link is long dead ...

The Parco dei Mostri is located in Bomarzo. Here are some overviews:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gardens_of_Bomarzo

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-monsters-of-bomarzo