The Dwarf, the Man, and the Giant
Now if we make a drawing such as [Fig. 10], which represents three men walking down a passage, our eyes know quite well that if all these men were of the same size, Mr. Jones in front would appear smaller than Mr. Smith behind him. And Mr. Smith in his turn would appear smaller than Brown who closes the procession.
Yet in our illustration Jones appears a veritable giant, towering above Smith and making Brown appear a mere pigmy. If you measure them, you will find they are all three the same size.
The reason of the deception is this. The lines showing the passage disappearing into the far distance immediately suggest to the eye the correct perspective, and, knowing the laws of that perspective, the eye is perfectly convinced that if all three were the same size, Brown in the rear would appear proportionately bigger than Jones. As he does not do so, the eye immediately leaps to the conclusion that he must be very much smaller. It therefore telegraphs to the brain that Brown is a dwarf, following in the tracks of an ordinary man and a giant!
Fig. 10.—The dwarf, the man, and the giant.