There are few articles in science that remain relevant over a span of 100 years; MaxWertheimer's pioneering experimental studies on apparent motion and figural organization are notableexceptions. Wertheimer's 1912 account of motion perception started a revolution and established theGestalt school of psychology. It also paved the way for further investigations of apparent motionperception, including subsequent research by Oliver Braddick, Stuart Anstis, Vilaynur Ramachandran,and others. Wertheimer's 1923 article on figural organization (known as the "dot study"for its numerous examples of dot patterns) helped define grouping as a principle of figure-groundperception. This book provides contemporary readers and researchers with Wertheimer's two pivotalarticles, newly translated into English and each accompanied by a synopsis, and two essays onapparent motion and figural organization that describe the long-term impact of Wertheimer's work.The translation of the original German into readable English prose allows English-language readersfor the first time to appreciate Wertheimer's visionary ideas. The accompanying essays tieWertheimer's phenomenological descriptions to the underlying neuronal mechanisms, bridging the yearsbetween the articles' first publication and modern research.
