Phi vs. Beta

Okay, I'm a total geek. I was recently researching the Phi Phenomenon because I was discussing animation, which, I believed worked because of Phi. After glancing at Wikipedia, I discovered that Phi was not what made animation work, but rather Beta Movement... both of which lead to "apparent motion"--hence the confusion.

Confused?

So was I. This led to more research which led me to understand this difference between Phi and Beta:


Phi Phenomenon


Beta Movement

What's the difference?

Well, Phi is movement perceived when our brains fill in the gap with something. In a sense, our brains create an object that covers the dots. This works with any colored background or shape.

Beta, on the other hand, is movement perceived when an object changes location/shape/size/angle/etc... This is where a new dot is shown slightly ahead of the previous dot, and so it seems like the dot is moving across the screen. If I made the dots get larger, the dot would appear to be getting closer to you.

There you have it: The difference between Phi and Beta.

And, no, they aren't dormitories or fraternities at your local college. Of course, if you meet someone from such a place, you can ask them if they know the difference between the two.

~Luke Holzmann
Your Media Production Mentor