staircase illusion

a three-dimensional impossible figure in which a set of stairs appears to continue rising or descending endlessly. It is frequently confused with the Schröder staircase. Also called Penrose staircase. [devised by British geneticist and mathematician Lionel S. Penrose (1898–1972) and British physicist Roger Penrose (1931– )]

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Psychology term of the day

January 13th 2025

genetic psychology

the study of the development of mental functions in children and their transformation across the lifespan. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the term was preferred over the synonymous developmental psychology.