Difference between ‘Delusion’ and ‘Illusion’

Aillusion is a misleading perception, usually visual. You see something, but you consistently misjudge its length, shape, motion or direction. To avoid further confusion, illusions are distinctly different fromhallucinations – which involve sensing something that is not actually present. In contrast, illusions deal with stimuli that are actually present, but they are misinterpreted or hard to interpret.

For example, look at the Müller-Lyer illusion shown to the right. Look at the horizontal lines. Typically the top line will be seen as being longer. However, they are both the same length. If you don’t believe me, measure them yourself.

Another illusion involves the Necker cube shown to the left. Are you looking down on a cube from above? Or are you looking up at a cube from below? If you concentrate on the solid dot in the upper left, you will seem to be looking down on the cube. If you concentrate on the open dot in the lower right, it will seem that you are looking up at a cube from underneath it. For most people, as their concentration shifts from dot to dot, the cube seems to “flip-flop” – the front and back sides seem to reverse themselves. For people who are used to seeing things only one way – in this case, usually looking down on a cube – they might find it difficult to get the cube to shift.

 


An illusion is a perceptual disturbance,
while a delusion is a belief disturbance.
 

 


On the other hand, a delusion is a deeply held false belief that is maintained – even when other information contradicts the belief. The contradictory information is either ignored completely or discounted in some way. Many prejudices rely on stereotypes that apply to a small minority in a group, but these stereotypes become delusional when they are used to judge everyone in that group. Beside race, religion, sex, ethnic group and nationality, occupational and age groups can develop stereotypes. Very few computer experts are “nerds,” and only a small minority of athletes are “dumb jocks.” Likewise, few teenagers are “delinquents,” and only a small percentage of the elderly are “old fogies.” However, people – who hold strong prejudices against these groups – will ignore the contradictory information and characterize all or most members of the group with these stereotyped labels.

This is a verbatim from “http://virgil.azwestern.edu/~dag/lol/IllusionDelusion.html” . So you can go on this page to read more.

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1 Response for “Difference between ‘Delusion’ and ‘Illusion’”

  1. cusip lookup says:

    Best knowledge. Thanks for sharing

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