Does the sketch below represent a partially transparent yellow circle lying on top of a red rectangle or does it represent a partially transparent red rectangle lying on top of a yellow circle?
Whichever you most readily say it is, it will take you a little mental effort to see it the other way. This is another example of the impossibility of multi-tasking.
You may want to see these two URLs about that topic:
http://licn.typepad.com/my_weblog/2012/07/multi-tasking-john-dunn-consultant-ambertec-pe-pc.html
http://licn.typepad.com/my_weblog/2012/07/multi-tasking-part-2-john-dunn-consultant-ambertec-pe-pc.html
In any case, you can't see the overlay effect both ways at the same time.
However, this image brings up another perceptual issue which is that this is really a sketch with three separate regions of color and not an overlay of two colored regions. Of course, you already knew that, but why do we so readly preceive a transparency overlay situation?
Varous investigations into this perception phenomenon have been conducted.
One explanation suggests, if I may paraphrase, that our muti-cone color perception system is a relatively late and as yet imperfectly integrated evolutionary development.
Please see: http://www.psy.unipd.it/~kramer/files/KramerBressanRivistaDiEstetica2010.pdf
Another explanation suggests, if I may again paraphrase, that chromatic contrast ratios play a role in perceived colors and opacity, hence transparency.
Please see: http://www.journalofvision.org/content/10/5/26.full
I don't have the answers to this myself, but it seems an interesting topic worthy of some thought and study for those who are designing displays for, let us say, the next iPad, the next Kindle and so forth.
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