Will Harrison
@willjharrison.bsky.social
Vision scientists and horror film enthusiast.
I also lecture at the University of the Sunshine Coast when I'm not at the beach.
I also lecture at the University of the Sunshine Coast when I'm not at the beach.
One of the few papers of my own that I enjoy reading is an analysis of a wonderful image database. But I'm a nerd.
Harrison, W. J. (2022). Luminance and Contrast of Images in the THINGS Database: Perception, 51(4), 244–262. doi.org/10.1177/0301...
Harrison, W. J. (2022). Luminance and Contrast of Images in the THINGS Database: Perception, 51(4), 244–262. doi.org/10.1177/0301...
November 21, 2025 at 9:14 AM
One of the few papers of my own that I enjoy reading is an analysis of a wonderful image database. But I'm a nerd.
Harrison, W. J. (2022). Luminance and Contrast of Images in the THINGS Database: Perception, 51(4), 244–262. doi.org/10.1177/0301...
Harrison, W. J. (2022). Luminance and Contrast of Images in the THINGS Database: Perception, 51(4), 244–262. doi.org/10.1177/0301...
wow ChatGPT 5 really working at the level of a PhD
August 12, 2025 at 1:56 AM
wow ChatGPT 5 really working at the level of a PhD
Wtf true for my real and digital pianos
Maybe this is why some keys are easier to learn than others (I only just mastered b flat minor!)
Maybe this is why some keys are easier to learn than others (I only just mastered b flat minor!)
June 29, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Wtf true for my real and digital pianos
Maybe this is why some keys are easier to learn than others (I only just mastered b flat minor!)
Maybe this is why some keys are easier to learn than others (I only just mastered b flat minor!)
This important question lays bear the inadequacy of current machine vision approaches to understanding human vision... and it reminds me of this hilarious Ted Adelson cartoon.
May 13, 2025 at 2:40 AM
This important question lays bear the inadequacy of current machine vision approaches to understanding human vision... and it reminds me of this hilarious Ted Adelson cartoon.
Seems like another version of Bart's anti-Bayesian demo:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
May 8, 2025 at 3:28 AM
Seems like another version of Bart's anti-Bayesian demo:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
In this figure here, the "non illusory triangle" is a triangle with broken sides, no? In terms of pixels, it's as illusory as the kanizsa (unless I'm missing something).
The interaction occurs in the bottom right panel: the illusory kanizsa will be stronger there than bottom left.
The interaction occurs in the bottom right panel: the illusory kanizsa will be stronger there than bottom left.
May 6, 2025 at 4:14 AM
In this figure here, the "non illusory triangle" is a triangle with broken sides, no? In terms of pixels, it's as illusory as the kanizsa (unless I'm missing something).
The interaction occurs in the bottom right panel: the illusory kanizsa will be stronger there than bottom left.
The interaction occurs in the bottom right panel: the illusory kanizsa will be stronger there than bottom left.
Hey guys I think I found a really important paper.
www.jstor.org/stable/2331554
www.jstor.org/stable/2331554
May 3, 2025 at 11:49 PM
Hey guys I think I found a really important paper.
www.jstor.org/stable/2331554
www.jstor.org/stable/2331554
I even generated a demo that was on the cover of the journal.
May 2, 2025 at 5:48 AM
I even generated a demo that was on the cover of the journal.
This is a demo I created for a paper a few years ago showing that a constant image distortion - which simulates subtle pathology either in the retina or cortex - has different perceptual implications depending on e.g. viewing distance. Notice how the clothes appear normal, but some faces do not.
May 1, 2025 at 8:26 PM
This is a demo I created for a paper a few years ago showing that a constant image distortion - which simulates subtle pathology either in the retina or cortex - has different perceptual implications depending on e.g. viewing distance. Notice how the clothes appear normal, but some faces do not.
I find this memory bias very interesting: people tend to recall familiar memoranda as having first occurred further back in the past than less familiar memoranda.
April 24, 2025 at 2:22 AM
I find this memory bias very interesting: people tend to recall familiar memoranda as having first occurred further back in the past than less familiar memoranda.
Just skimmed - this looks important AND fun. Can’t wait to read the detail 👏
April 17, 2025 at 7:33 AM
Just skimmed - this looks important AND fun. Can’t wait to read the detail 👏
Accidentally created this neato visualisation
March 11, 2025 at 8:57 AM
Accidentally created this neato visualisation
hah I couldn't resist flicking through to see if they use a signal detection analysis... then I stumbled upon thishttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/cms/asset/c52b3ab3-7fea-48d5-bc3e-6e9e57e041fa/jocd16241-fig-0002-m.jpg
March 4, 2025 at 9:16 PM
hah I couldn't resist flicking through to see if they use a signal detection analysis... then I stumbled upon thishttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/cms/asset/c52b3ab3-7fea-48d5-bc3e-6e9e57e041fa/jocd16241-fig-0002-m.jpg
Direct costs and indirect costs.
February 8, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Direct costs and indirect costs.
Turns out we can predict both the perceptual errors AND the associated confidence quite well from the same front end mechanism. The coloured lines in these panels show the model output at the perceptual decision stage and the confidence stage.
January 29, 2025 at 2:57 AM
Turns out we can predict both the perceptual errors AND the associated confidence quite well from the same front end mechanism. The coloured lines in these panels show the model output at the perceptual decision stage and the confidence stage.
We could then build a bunch of perceptual/confidence models that have an image-computable front end. Given the image statistics detected in a randomly oriented target, how should the observer respond, and what should their confidence be?
January 29, 2025 at 2:57 AM
We could then build a bunch of perceptual/confidence models that have an image-computable front end. Given the image statistics detected in a randomly oriented target, how should the observer respond, and what should their confidence be?
From this paradigm, we get a distribution of "perceptual errors" (black data left panel), which is how much the reported upright deviates from the ground truth, as well as confidence ratings that are naturally associated with differently sized perceptual errors (black data right panel).
January 29, 2025 at 2:57 AM
From this paradigm, we get a distribution of "perceptual errors" (black data left panel), which is how much the reported upright deviates from the ground truth, as well as confidence ratings that are naturally associated with differently sized perceptual errors (black data right panel).
On each trial, a participant is shown a small piece of a natural image, which has been rotated by some random amount. The participant has to rotate this target so it appears "upright". They then tell us if they are confident (or not) in their response.
January 29, 2025 at 2:57 AM
On each trial, a participant is shown a small piece of a natural image, which has been rotated by some random amount. The participant has to rotate this target so it appears "upright". They then tell us if they are confident (or not) in their response.
First off, all aspects of this paper were led by the unstoppable Rebecca West, building off former PhD student Dr Emily A-Izzeddin's work, in collaboration with Dave Sewell, none of whom are on bsky.
I'd tell you to hire Bec and Emily, but they are awesome enough to already have postdocs.
I'd tell you to hire Bec and Emily, but they are awesome enough to already have postdocs.
January 29, 2025 at 2:57 AM
First off, all aspects of this paper were led by the unstoppable Rebecca West, building off former PhD student Dr Emily A-Izzeddin's work, in collaboration with Dave Sewell, none of whom are on bsky.
I'd tell you to hire Bec and Emily, but they are awesome enough to already have postdocs.
I'd tell you to hire Bec and Emily, but they are awesome enough to already have postdocs.
New from my lab: "Priors for natural image statistics inform confidence in perceptual decisions"
We used a natural image statistics approach to investigate the computations underlying perceptual confidence. 🧵
Article: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
We used a natural image statistics approach to investigate the computations underlying perceptual confidence. 🧵
Article: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
January 29, 2025 at 2:57 AM
New from my lab: "Priors for natural image statistics inform confidence in perceptual decisions"
We used a natural image statistics approach to investigate the computations underlying perceptual confidence. 🧵
Article: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
We used a natural image statistics approach to investigate the computations underlying perceptual confidence. 🧵
Article: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Bot checkers are really exploiting cognitive strategies.... this took me far too long!
December 10, 2024 at 1:18 AM
Bot checkers are really exploiting cognitive strategies.... this took me far too long!
I want to laugh at this, but then again I’m not the one getting paid $500k/year so maybe the joke is on me.
November 20, 2024 at 7:25 PM
I want to laugh at this, but then again I’m not the one getting paid $500k/year so maybe the joke is on me.
At this year’s Australian Cognitive Neuroscience Society Conference I’ll be presenting a talk in the Naturalistic Paradigms symposium. I’ll talk about observer models for a variety of tasks, such as visual search and face recognition, as well as how the same principles can be applied to neuro data.
November 14, 2024 at 8:31 PM
At this year’s Australian Cognitive Neuroscience Society Conference I’ll be presenting a talk in the Naturalistic Paradigms symposium. I’ll talk about observer models for a variety of tasks, such as visual search and face recognition, as well as how the same principles can be applied to neuro data.