If a straight stick looks bent in water, can you ever fully trust what you see?

The argument from illusion points out that perception sometimes misrepresents the world — a stick half in water looks bent, a coin seen at an angle looks oval. Philosophers have used this gap between appearance and reality to argue we never perceive physical objects directly, only private impressions standing in for them.

— Bertrand Russell, The Problems of Philosophy — 1912

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