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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='color:#323232'>Congratulations to the winners of the 13<sup><span style='border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>th</span></sup> annual </span><span style='color:#0070C0'><a href="http://illusionoftheyear.com/"><span style='color:#0070C0'>Best Illusion of the Year Contest</span></a></span><span style='color:#323232'>! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='color:#323232'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='color:#323232'>Online voters around the world chose the best illusions of the year from 4pm EDT on October 4<sup><span style='border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>th</span></sup> to 4pm EDT on October 5<sup><span style='border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>th</span></sup>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='color:#323232'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><b><span style='color:#323232;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>First Place</span></b><span style='color:#323232'> and an award of $3,000 went to “</span><span style='color:#0070C0'><a href="http://illusionoftheyear.com/2017/10/shape-from-motion-only/"><span style='color:#0070C0'>Shape from Motion Only</span></a></span><span style='color:#323232'>,” a shape perception illusion by Hedva Spitzer, Dana Tearosh, and Niv Weisman of Tel Aviv University in Israel.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='color:#323232'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><b><span style='color:#323232;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>Second Place</span></b><span style='color:#323232'> and an award of $2,000 went to “</span><span style='color:#0070C0'><a href="http://illusionoftheyear.com/2017/10/skye-blue-cafe-wall-illusion/"><span style='color:#0070C0'>Skye Blue Café Wall Illusion</span></a></span><span style='color:#323232'>,” a powerful new rendering of the Café Wall shape distortion effect, by the USA artist and magician </span><span style='color:#0070C0'><a href="http://victoriaskye.com/illusionart.html"><span style='color:#0070C0'>Victoria Skye</span></a></span><span style='color:#323232'>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='color:#323232'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><b><span style='color:#323232;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>Third Place</span></b><span style='color:#323232'> and an award of $1,000 went to “</span><span style='color:#0070C0'><a href="http://illusionoftheyear.com/2015/the-day-it-rained-on-lowry/"><span style='color:#0070C0'>Dynamic Müller-Lyer Illusion</span></a></span><span style='color:#323232'>,” a dynamic reimagining of the classical geometric illusion, by the Italian visual artist </span><span style='color:#0070C0'><a href="http://www.giannisarcone.com/index.html#carousel"><span style='color:#0070C0'>Gianni A. Sarcone</span></a></span><span style='color:#323232'>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='color:#323232'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><span style='color:#323232'>This year’s Contest coincides with the release of </span><span style='color:#0070C0'><a href="http://championsofillusionbook.com/"><span style='color:#0070C0'>Champions of Illusion: The Science Behind Mind-Boggling Images and Mystifying Brain Puzzles</span></a></span><span style='color:#323232'>. “Champions” features many of the best illusions from the Contest’s first decade, and their neural underpinnings.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Enjoy the winning illusions and all <u><span style='color:#0563C1'><a href="http://illusionoftheyear.com/cat/top-10-finalists/2017/">Top 10 Finalists</a></span></u> at <a href="http://illusionoftheyear.com">http://illusionoftheyear.com</a> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://illusionoftheyear.com/about-the-contest/submission-instructions/">Illusion submissions</a> are now accepted for the 14<sup>th</sup> edition of the Best Illusion of the Year Contest, to be held in 2018.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>--------------------------------------<br>Susana Martinez-Conde, PhD<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'>Author, <a href="championsofillusionbook.com"><span style='color:blue'>Champions of Illusion</span></a> and <a href="http://www.sleightsofmind.com/"><span style='color:blue'>Sleights of Mind</span></a><br>Professor of Ophthalmology, Neurology, and Physiology & Pharmacology<br>State University of New York (SUNY)<br>Downstate Medical Center<br>450 Clarkson Ave, Brooklyn NY 11203, USA<br>Email: <a href="mailto:smart@neuralcorrelate.com" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue'>smart@neuralcorrelate.com</span></a><br>Phone: <a href="tel:%2B1%20718-270-4520" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue'>+1 718-270-4520</span></a><br><a href="http://smc.neuralcorrelate.com" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue'>http://smc.neuralcorrelate.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>