If you're not certain what forced perspective is, take a look at this image:


Look carefully, and you'll see that each level of the buildings on Main Street, Disney, is shorter than the one above, with windows scaled down as well. You don't notice this on the ground, as your mind assumes that each window is the same size, and this visual "trick" makes you think the buildings are far taller than they are.


Disney uses the same trick on the tree: the ornaments at the top are smaller than the ornaments at the bottom, giving the tree a feeling of being taller than it is. Again, the mental trick here is that the brain assumes that the ornaments are a constant size.

Now, the Fit:


It feels extremely spacious. I've noticed what I believe to be a similar trick. The design of the center stack, which years of experience have taught our brains to expect in the center of the car, gives the impression that the car is wider than it actually is.

Mentally, you think of that very prominent volume knob as being the middle of the car (or alternatively, the center of the two A/C vents).

Mentally, you look to those features that say "center" and equate the two sides. Because you can intimately discern the spaciousness of your side, you ascribe the same attributes to the far side.

BTW, the original version of the Honda CR-V had a similar visual trick, except that the entire center console was moved to the right, giving the driver more footwell space than the passenger.




Honda seems to have truly mastered the art of creating mental space. Traditionally, Honda cars have had a sense of spaciousness that may or may not have any bearing on the actual size of the car.

 

Nice essay. I think I shall name my razor after you.

 

The effect is even more noticable in this panorama:

 

+rep for using your noodle, I never thought about that.

 

very sharp, Occam! (razor sharp!)

 

I think that there's a much more complicated explanation, one involving gremlins and an evil genius, which we should prefer.

 

Of course it must also involve the Illuminati, the Bilderbergs, and Ron Paul's nightstand.

 

I'd not thought of those but, now that you mention them, I see that it must be so.

And our apologies for hijacking your otherwise thoughtful thread with corny philosophical humor.

 

Good research! Honda ergonomics are the best, even if they're using visual tricks! My other honda, a lawnmower, even has some nice ergonomic features.

 

I knew you lived near me but I didn't realize you were that close!