In 2015, a photograph of a dress circulated all over social media. The illusion became a sensation overnight: people disagreed as to whether the dress was blue and black or white and gold. Some people felt locked into a specific visual experience, whereas others were able to see both blue/black and white/gold. What accounts for such individual variability? How do our eyes and brains generate our perceptual experience? This course will explore the science underlying a wide array of perceptual illusions spanning the various senses (visual, auditory, tactile, vestibular, and multisensory). In addition to understanding the underlying science, we will also focus on the role that illusion has played and continues to play in the arts. We will ask how and why artists use illusion, and experiment with illusions through drawing and digital design. This course will also bring in guest artists to lead various workshops. Open only to first year frosh.