Progress Bar Illusion

Did you know that simple optical illusions can make it seem like the progress bars on your file downloads are moving faster than they actually are? This video over on Gizmodo shows us how it works.

(via @dougjaeger)

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  1. Also, the paper “Rethinking the Progress Bar” discusses the perceived speed of progress bars. Throughout the study, subjects were shown bars all of the very same duration but with variations on speed during their progress. I used a similar technique for a speed-o-meter for an iPhone game. http://HeikoBehrens.net/2010/06/03/psychologically-tricked-perceived-speed-in-an-iphone-game/